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Capture the Flag

Through Any Means...

---

Written by Arian Mabe (Amethyst Mare)

Commissioned by Meeper

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B-Strike was a strange place, though Legoshi had gotten used to it, over time, the relaxation and recreation centre for their school. The building itself was chunky and stuck out from the others surrounding it awkwardly, though it was in a good location for them, easy to get to, easy for them to go and relax away from the stresses of their studies. It almost protruded strangely into the street itself, making other anthros walk around it when they were merely trying to get by on their way, an escalator leading up into the body of the building.

It was crazy and it was ridiculous and the adult students loved it. What more was there for them to say or worry about?

The wolf sprawled out over a bean bag, though there were many rooms in the entertainment centre. Unfortunately, Collot and Voss were not there that day, having been sucked into a video game that had completely and utterly drowned them. Legoshi frowned. The wolf didn't often get sucked into games like that anymore, not having had all that much time for them, though he didn't begrudge the others for their enjoyment, not one bit. However, Jack, Miguno and Durham were there, the dog rolling his eyes as he hung out near Legoshi in the relaxation room, somewhere where they were all able to sit and chat. There was not much that could get Jack all riled up, the golden dog easy going to a fault, even if the hyena and the coyote were arguing over the merits of dogs against coyotes.

Legoshi frowned, cocking his head. That argument was getting rather heated, though Miguno would, as ever, just say that it was a debate, that nothing was going on there, nothing to worry about. He had always ended up just a little bit on edge whenever carnivores, like himself, got all heated up, sometimes fur flying. They didn't always know their own strength and that was always going to be an issue for them, though more so when they were around herbivores.

"I'm telling you," Durham protested, the coyote leaning forward from his seat and jabbing a finger in the air towards Miguno, "the coyotes did it! They worked together, pack mentality, getting past the dogs to retrieve a document."

Miguno sighed and rolled his eyes, the hyena a little more mild-mannered, though they had all grown and changed over the years. Even then, things were different for them than they had been at the start of their time and studies together.

"Yes, but," he insisted. "You can't use that wild mentality and pack mentality argument all the time, you know. Just because dogs evolved a little differently from you and me, kind of, doesn't mean that they don't still have just as much pack mentality in them. They can still face off against any other wild anthros, like Legoshi here, and win."

Miguno laughed aloud, shaking his head.

"Besides, that was all in a manga! It's not real, Durham, even if it is fun. You do know, yes, what make-believe stuff is?"

Miguno bopped the coyote on the head, yanking his hand back just in time to avoid the sharp snap of the coyote's jaws in the air where his hand had been just a moment before. More one to stay on the side-lines and observe, keeping everyone, just about, in line, Legoshi watched from a distance, one leg kicked off the beanbag. Only those that knew him well would have known that the wolf was ready to leap into action at a moment's notice, putting the martial arts - and further - training that they had had at the school into practise. It was something, that training and exercise drills to teach them health and fitness, which had come in handy in their games on more than one occasion. Every anthro, however, had a strength and a weakness, and it was something that they had both played on and taken advantage of during their games, over the years. Strength and power were one thing, but even the smaller creatures could boast agility that gave them the upper hand, or sharp intelligence that let them best the more brutish carnivores especially.

Of course, Durham easily took the bait from Miguno, even if the hyena had not actively tossed it out there, only winding the coyote up. Oh, Durham still had a bite and a bark to him, brash and rude, though everyone close to him knew that he had a softer side too. But who was to judge any of them when they were all still growing up, even as adults? So much had happened there at Cherryton Academy, they surely still had time to grow into the adults that they were supposed to be. Yet even young adults needed time, yes, of course...

"I can tell you exactly how to settle this," Miguno said, a grin stretching his lips a little, though it was pleasant enough, even on the muzzle of a hyena. "Look... You want to see who's better, though I'm a hyena, not a dog, obviously... Why don't we have a game of capture the flag?"

The coyote's ears pricked up, tongue lolling out in such an easy canine-like motion that Legoshi had to resist the urge to point it out to him. It was not as if that was going to make things any better between them all, no...

"A challenge?" He demanded, tipping forward, claws digging into the arms of his chair, though the wood was already scratched and marked by the claws of canines just like that. "I accept! But what are the stakes?"

Miguno hesitated, sliding his eyes over to Legoshi.

"Well," he said, suddenly cagey, as if he was hedging his bets and paying attention to exactly what it was that he had proposed. "Hm... It'd be better if we had more players for a capture the flag challenge, as you say... Legoshi, Jack - will you join us? This 'yote needs to be put in his place by a dog anyway, aren't you going to step up the plate?"

Jack's brow furrowed.

"Huh?" The dog didn't seem to have caught on to the expression Miguno had used. "Plate? But we're not eating anything, are we?"

Legoshi groaned and rolled his eyes, though Miguno remained level, even if his lips twitched in a little bit of mirth that not even he could hide.

"It's not... Never mind, just a baseball term, I think. I forget you're not all that into sports anymore. Anyway, it'd be better with all four of us, don't you think, Durham?"

The coyote grinned widely, showing off a flash of sharp, pointed teeth.

"Yeah! More of your butts to kick!"

Miguno sighed.

"Yeah, well, that's not going to happen, you know, we're going to be on teams. I'm thinking... Legoshi and Jack against you and me?"

"Hey, why is he with you?" Legoshi protested, choosing that moment to cut in. "I'll play, perhaps, but...I thought you were settling a bet between you two? That thing about dogs and coyotes?"

Durham smirked, ears splaying out slightly, his tail noticeably stiff and still in challenge.

"Well, it's against dogs and Jack's a dog..." He said, evasively, sliding his gaze darkly away. "And, the thing is, you're the next closest thing to a dog too, Legoshi, everyone knows that you're not exactly fearsome, no?"

The wolf huffed and straightened his back, though sitting on a beanbag on the floor still was perhaps not the most intimidating position that he could have taken up.

"And what is that supposed to mean?"

Durham held his hands up, palms out, though not even the coyote could keep the smirk from his face. It was just the way he was, brash and cutting, always seeming to know the exact right thing to say to get someone's hackles up, whether he knew them well or not.

"Um... I'm not sure..."

Jack broke in, rubbing the back of his neck. He hadn't paid too much mind to the tension crackling between Legoshi and Durham, for Legoshi wasn't too much of a hothead and things like that tended to fizzle out quite swiftly. Especially when they were of different species, even if they were both carnivores. The dog's tail swung faintly back and forth, not quite wagging, but not quite showing that he was entirely at ease and relaxed with the situation either.

"I don't know if I want to join in," he said. "It sounds like a lot of work and it's been a hard week with a lot of studying..."

"Yeah," Legoshi chimed in softly, though he meant what he said. "That's not something that Durham would know anything about, with the grades he gets still."

"Hey!"

The laughter directed at the coyote was a welcome respite from much, though the coyote still frowned and pinned his ears at them. Being laughed at was hardly good for him, though he did still recognise that they were his friends, even if they were not especially close.

"Hm, well, look," he said, splaying his hands out, fingers stretched out a little from their partners. "Let's make this even more interesting. Make it so that the losing team has to be the winners' slaves for a week, hm? Then that'll let you get something from it too."

Legoshi rolled his eyes at that notion, not really all that intrigued, but Jack perked up, his tail lifting.

"Oh? And what can we get the losers to do?" He asked.

Durham grinned.

"Whatever we want, as long as it's not, you know, really weird," the coyote said, confirming the best he could, though all that meant was that Durham was as vague as ever. "Nothing sexual, I think, that'd be weird between us. But, yeah, you said about studying - homework? Research? Note taking?"

That was something that Jack would very much have liked someone else to do for him, the golden canine's lip twitching as he nipped at the inside of it, not wanting to give too much away. Inside, he was exuberant, already gloating at the notion of having the coyote (yeah, okay, maybe Miguno too) at his beck and call for a week, to have all his notes taken for him. Maybe he wouldn't trust Durham to take all his notes as accurately as Jack would have done so for himself, but, well, it would still be nice to get something of a break out of it.

Easily coerced and persuaded into a course of action, the dog nodded, grinning and lifting his fist to Legoshi.

"I'm in! What about you, Legoshi? Are you going to show them that wolves aren't that far removed from dogs? Because we're the better team!"

The wolf ignored the quip about wolves and dogs, knowing that Jack did not exactly mean any harm from it. He thought he was praising Legoshi, even, saying that they were teammates, two carnivores on the same team working towards a common goal. But maybe that was just one thing about how the pack mentality, at the very least, played out for dogs rather than wolves: there was a difference there. Though not one that Legoshi thought it worth wasting breath on actually saying aloud.

One thing had not changed about the wolf, after all: he kept a lot to himself. In the end, that could well play out to his benefit, even if he had made closer friends during his studies too.

So it was that Legoshi, Jack, Miguno and Durham stood in the rented arena, which was separate from the B-Strike complex. The B-Strike centre, unfortunately, simply wasn't big enough for a really good game of capture the flag and the problem with that was that there would be others there, not engaging in the game, when they would have to work and move around them. Even though that could have been fun, well, that was probably not worth at all the risk of annoying everyone else there with their antics, always getting in the way and thwarting everything that those there were trying to do in their downtime. Everyone knew how Juno got when someone interrupted that wolf's gossiping sessions too, after all...

The stakes were high, Legoshi and Jack agreed on one time again Miguno and Durham, even if that very much did not seem like how it was meant to go, considering the debate over the manga that had started everything to begin with. It was how it ended up, however, the arena main floor open and dry, though the whole thing was designed like an abandoned city, which did make things interesting at least. In there, there would be lots of places to crawl and climb and to hide the flags - things that the carnivores were all very much into, getting to exhibit some of their natural athletic ability. Some furniture had been left in "abandoned rooms", though for the sake of the arena it had all been staged, hints that traps and special items lay about the place too listed by the entrance. They would not have been able to acquire one outright near B-Strike, so the arena was a little further away than they were used to travelling, but the bus still ran there and would pick them up later. All in all, everything was in order, though Legoshi had flinched at paying his share of the fee for hiring the arena.

Their bodies were on show too as all four carnivores sized off against one another. In blue speedos only, Legoshi and Jack stood tall, the grey-furred wolf and the golden canine standing shoulder to shoulder, as if they were perfectly comfortable with each other. The floor was a little dusty under the wolf's bare feet and he shifted his weight. They couldn't see Miguno and Durham, not from their end of the arena, shadows falling over them and "rubble" in their way, but knew they were there, waiting too.

Jack shivered slightly, slipping from his façade. The blue of the speedo set off the yellow of the dog's coat nicely, though that was not often something that Jack was all that interested in. He didn't think about his physical appearance very much, more concerned with things he could do and see than anything else. His yellow fur was ruffled and brushed up in the wrong direction in some places, ears trying to prick up even where they more naturally flopped down on either side of his head.

"Quick, come on, Jack," Legoshi hissed, trying to get the dog back on track. "We don't want to lose to them!"

Jack gave the wolf a strange look.

"I didn't know you were so competitive, Legoshi," he said honestly, curious about the new side of the wolf that was coming out. "Did you play this kind of game and challenge when you were younger or something?"

Legoshi sighed and shook his head.

"No, this would be my first time," he confessed. "But it's going to be crazy if Durham gets to boast and brag about this for months and months... Can you imagine? He'll think he's the king of the place if we let him win this."

Jack shuddered.

"Maybe we shouldn't have gotten involved in the bet..."

Legoshi sighed.

"Yes," the wolf said, acknowledging that they had, indeed, been roped into things. "But...well...there's nothing we can do about it now. Let's hide the flag. I don't think either of them is good at climbing, so let's go high."

The wolf, after all, had longer arms and legs than most, standing taller than everyone else in the group, which was going to be a help, he hoped, to winning the challenge. He had also brushed up on a bit of wrestling, namely the holds, mainly. He was not so much for striking and leaping away or pressing an attack and thought that it would be to his and Jack's benefit to at least hold down and disable an opponent in something like a sleeper hold. Anything where he could use his strength and muscle against the others, though Miguno was tougher than he looked. The slyness and agile nature of Durham was more likely to be what caught him off guard.

Miguno and Durham fared little better, though their personalities were abjectly set to clash on their team. The hyena fished through an old bookcase, looking to see if any of the wall at the back of it, in a little room that had been built into the arena itself, was broken. The coyote had said something about trying to find a little hole that they could bundle the flag up into, which matched the colour of their red speedos, their bare fur and light muscling on show.

"I can't see anything here!" He complained. "Durham, will you help me?"

It took a lot for Miguno to slip out of his polite way of speaking, though he did have hyena blood in him, despite what others said about his manner and demeanour. It was just the way of it, kind of, though the coyote's sly grin and hanging tongue did pull on more than a mere twitch of annoyance inside him too.

The coyote shrugged.

"You're better at finding hiding places," he said, not very helpful, which was pretty usual for him. "You'll do a better job."

Miguno bit his lip, lest a curse slip free.

"So you say, but I think that's just because you don't want to do it."

The coyote held what he really thought about that to himself, standing outside to keep watch. Above them hung a giant countdown timer, fastened to the ceiling with the electrics running through it. The arena must have frequently been used for similar events, though he could have seen Cherryton Academy hiring it for physical education (exercise) lessons too. It had not been something that they had used before, however.

The red speedos were goo against his fur, however, the brown of his coat blending nicely into the red as if it had been designed for him. Admiring his body briefly, the coyote shifting his hips back and forth, the swimming attire leaving very little to the imagination. The best thing about it for him was that the speedos would give him the full range of flexibility in his body, allowing him to twist back and forth, to wriggle and writhe, making it harder than ever for anyone to even think about pinning him down.

And getting pinned was hardly something that Durham was intending to happen...

Miguno huffed out, a little more bright-eyed as he watched the timer count down from twenty.

"There... It's hidden. No one will see it there," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Guess this is it then - you ready?"

The coyote grinned, lifting the hyena's spirits along with his own.

"Yeah, born ready!"

His cocky confidence was something that was sorely needed for that kind of game, for it was not the sort of thing that anyone should have been entering into without being sure that they were capable of it, after all. That wasn't always the case, as the timer counted down, but, between them, it was all just meant to be a bit of fun.

Even if the losers would end up being slaves, in the end... But Durham and Miguno would win, so that wasn't even something that either had to spare a moment to think about!

"Ten..."

"Nine..."

"Eight..."

"Seven..."

"Six..."

"Five..."

"Four..."

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

And the game was on!

Legoshi and Jack nodded to each other, splitting up across the dim, shady arena. It had been something of a grey, cloudy day outside and the roof there only let in some light, which added to the atmosphere. Some parts of the arena, despite the staged rooms and furniture, the places that were designed to be obstacles and to let people hide there when working on an activity, were almost dingy, setting Legoshi's hackles up and everything on edge, tail lifting.

Okay, so maybe it was going to be a little more fun than he had expected it to be. His predator instincts were up and his lips stretched into a long, easy grin, as if he was completely at ease with the situation. His ears pricked and he wriggled his toes on the smooth floor, moving between wood and tile. He supposed that that made for easier clean-up and tidying for when they had to maintain it, but the majority of the rooms themselves, however they were set up, like kitchens or offices that had been abandoned and more, were neat. The only dust was in the starting zone at that time, set up like a round pit of earth or sand.

Interesting...

_ _

Legoshi hunkered down, calling on the stealth of the wolf that he was to walk lightly. Of course, there was so much more to being a carnivore than teeth and claws, but wolves did not like pursuing prey over many miles, no. He knew that, even as he lowered his head, conserving energy with every step, though he was glad, at least, that he had eaten a good breakfast earlier that day.

He slipped silently into a room that was like a canteen, even if a small one. It was unnerving how it had been staged, as if someone was going to walk in at any moment, sit down and ask for dinner, reminding him of the canteen back at Cherryton Academy. The wolf shook it off, going straight through into another room. That one was like a library with books lining every shelf, and shelves lining every wall, from floor to ceiling.

The wolf's heart pounded. Could a flag be hidden in there? Surely not, it was too close to the starting zone for him and Jack, but, well, there was no telling.

He sniffed deeply, sifting through the scents in the air as he had learned to do, taking it all in so that his mind could sort through them, making sense of the smells. Dust and must, the age of disuse. It did not smell as if there had been any others, whether carnivores or herbivores, in the arena before them for quite some time. Yet the bite of coyote pulled at him as he growled, lunging with his hands outstretched.

Durham skidded to a halt, though he had not been walking all that quickly, not expecting a grey bundle of fur to suddenly launch himself at him. The coyote cursed, fleeing through into another adjoining room, something set up like a reception area - but one that would have been found in a westernised house. The whole arena was such a blend of different cultures that it ended up feeling clunky and unnerving, though the coyote suspected, in a way, that that was most likely the reason that it had been done in that way.

"Urf!"

He shoved back at the wolf, but they had all trained in different fighting styles, even if Durham had felt most in tune with Judo, most particularly liking the throws, though holds and grappling were very much his forte too. And he would not submit! He muttered and grappled with the wolf, trying to get his fingers around the wolf's shoulder to drive him back off his feet. But Durham doubted himself, not knowing whether to go for a hip sweep or to cut the wolf's legs out from under him with his own leg, missing his cue. If he had trusted his instincts as much as Legoshi did, it would have set him right for the first move.

"Unnff!"

Legoshi pulled his full force into the hold, grappling with Durham until he got the coyote's back to his chest. His arms latched under, around and up, holding him up against him in a full nelson, though he should have, perhaps, gone for an actual choke hold that time, something that would put pressure on him. But before he could hurl the coyote to the ground, the agile canine had wrenched himself free with a snarl.

He lunged, going for a side headlock, grappling with Legoshi and driving the wolf down to his knees. Damn! Legoshi heaved, though couldn't stop Durham from following through with a headlock driver. The coyote's full weight pulled against him as Durham used his chest to force Legoshi's head down to the ground, forehead first, in a wrestling move that the wolf had not seen in quite some time. But that did not matter, not as he barely managed to pull back enough to stop his head from slamming into the ground full force. He drove an elbow back into the coyote's side, forcing him to release the grip he had on the side headlock just enough for Legoshi to fight free.

It might not have been pretty, something of a scramble, everyone's limbs going in all different directions, but Legoshi got up onto his knees, facing off with Durham. The coyote snarled, though it was not all that fearsome when there was no true menace behind his teeth, his gaze locked with Legoshi's.

"Give up, Legoshi!" He goaded the wolf on, hoping to get him to slip up. "You're never going to win!"

Legoshi huffed and rolled his eyes, acting quite as if he was not worried about anything at all.

"As if that's going to happen..."

Durham's eye twitched, but, still, he maintained his gaze locked with the wolf's, not daring to look away. To look away would have been a sign of weakness and Durham couldn't have that.

But neither moved for a long moment, frozen in time, staring each other down. The wolf's fingers twitched first - and Durham made his move.

He grappled with Legoshi, baring his teeth, gripping the wolf's hands as he strove to force him back, putting biting pressure down on Legoshi's hands with his own. They didn't have to be teeth, of course, to exert force like that, but it still didn't work. They grappled, muscles bulging, straining, but, against his will, it had all turned into a test of strength without Durham realising just how the tables were turning on him.

The wolf was just too much stronger than him, forcing him down to the ground and shoving Durham face first, taking the upper position. The coyote fought to get his legs back under him, but it was not possible as Legoshi took advantage and lunged up onto his back, yanking his head and upper body back, forcing his chest to bow forward. The coyote yowled as Legoshi got him into a camel clutch, his chin tipped up as the wolf's legs locked through his arms, sitting on his back while he tried to kick out, yet the shot of pain made it so the strength that he should have had was drained from him.

"Aaaaarrrgggghhh!"

He cried out, but the game was not over yet. Durham's mind raced and, rather than fight against Legoshi's weight, he let himself drop to the ground and roll instead, twisting violently to the side. It was one of the only ways that he could dislodge the wolf, though he heaved and panted, straining around the wolf as he grappled with him on the ground.

"Unnfff... Not...gonna...win..."

He was determined, ruled in a way by emotion while Legoshi was more calculating, able to take a step back from the situation at hand to more carefully think about what he was doing. Yet he still managed to scissor lock his legs around the wolf's body, arms going for the head. It was a body scissors move, but it was clumsily executed - tighter and more recognisable as he tightened the grip of his legs and arms around the wolf, though the problem there was very much that Legoshi was trying to throw him off at the same time.

"Erf!"

Legoshi growled, but the coyote was slim and wily, squirming back and forth, the pressure around his body immense as Durham stepped down on his instep to increase the force of his legs, the pressure of his hold. Durham had him in such a way that he didn't quite know what was going to happen, but his hands were free and they were what allowed him to break free.

With an almighty wrench and a twist, thrusting his hip up into the coyote, who was on top of him, he hurled Durham off him, forcing the coyote to let him go. He followed through with it, sweaty from the fight already, though Legoshi had to say that he was at least a little bit impressed by how well the coyote was fighting back.

That didn't stop him, as the coyote tried to get up again, on his knees, from pressing the attack. From behind, he wrapped his arms around the coyote and put pressure around his neck in a sleeper hold, bearing down, holding tightly, trying to knock him out or at least weaken him to the point that he gave him. The throbbing pulse of the coyote leapt against his arm as he bore down, showing his teeth, though a snarl did not break from his lips that time.

"Unff..." He growled, pressing down as the coyote fought, almost panicking. "Give up... Tell me where the flag is!"

"Unff... Never!"

The coyote gasped, eyes wide, fingers grasping and pinching, though it was his hand slapping back up against the wolf's face that got Legoshi to loosen his grip, just a little. He didn't want to let go, but he was worried about those fingers getting up so close to his eyes, jabbing and poking, and let go of him with a low growl. However, the coyote slammed into him, driving his head into the wolf's midriff quicker than Legoshi could blink, knocking him to the ground.

From there, it was a scramble again, until Durham panted over him, locking his legs around Legoshi's head and pressing down on his instep in a scissor hold. Legoshi heaved and gasped, growling deep in the back of his throat as feral instinct reared its head once again, the need to win, the need to succeed, all coming through in full force.

"Rrrrraaaaaarrrrgggghhhhhhh!"

He howled, but didn't really know what he was doing, not as he fought the hold, though the coyote had found a weakness or knew how to apply the hold in just the kind of way that he struggled to get out of it. The wolf's hands still were free, which allowed him to grab and pinch, but, even though he had a fairly good idea of the coyote's anatomy when it was similar to his, he couldn't quite find the right nerve to pinch.

"Ahaha-hah!" The coyote crowed. "Give in, Legoshi! This time, it really is you that will tell me the position of the flag!"

But the wolf would not give in, not even as the scissor hold around his neck and head tightened, his head shoved up so close to the coyote's crotch that he could barely breathe. The pressure was immense, making his vision grow shakier and wavier at the edges, but he managed to get his fingers up into the back of the coyote's knees, jabbing and pinching until the hold slackened, even if only marginally.

It was enough - and enough was more than enough for the wolf. He heaved - and he was free! If not up, the two of them still down on the ground, grappling, a hand on the hyena's shoulder to drive him down into the ground, on his back.

"Oof!"

Legoshi panted, squirming around and heaving to get on top of the felled hyena, though they were both in quite a vulnerable position down there on the ground, which was not something that they could so easily set aside. He heaved and grunted, eyes wide and wild, facing down along the length of the coyote's back as he pulled his leg up, back towards his chest.

Durham howled, though it was a move that Legoshi had done before too, back in the lion's den, though that time had been with a cheetah. The wolf bared his teeth, not being mean but relishing in his power, though he tried to make sure that he wasn't going so far as to hurt the coyote either. He did know his own strength, after all, and it was something that had held him back before.

He didn't hold back from completing the move, however, grabbing the back of Durham's head, where the fur was a little thicker, wrenching him back as if he was forcing the coyote's whole body to bow. Durham cursed and fought, though he was held down in the hold with enough firmness that he could not wrench his body about enough to accidentally injure himself.

Damn, Legoshi!

_ _

Durham snarled and fought, though a big part of it all was him relishing in the fight, in having the chance to show what it was that he was made of. The wolf pulled a little harder, pinning him into the hold.

"Do you surrender?" Legoshi asked, though the coyote could not bear the hint of amusement in his voice. "A week as our slaves, that will be very interesting!"

There could never be anything nasty or unpleasant in the wolf, but it was the light tease that had him fighting back, refusing to give in. It was too early for anything like that, even in a game!

"Never!"

Legoshi frowned. It was kind of silly for the coyote to fight back like that and he pressed things a little further, taking care. Drawing the coyote's head back further, he pulled at his body, forcing a gasp and a grunt of pain from Durham's lips.

Shoot... Legoshi flinched. Had he gone too far? He swallowed hard, an apology on his lips as he leaned down. He must have gone too far, damn it, but Durham hadn't wanted to submit either!

"Durham, are you..."

Yet all breath was stolen from the wolf's lungs as Durham heaved himself sideways, pulling his head free from the wolf's weakened grip and following through on the motion as he rolled to the left, away from the leg that Legoshi had held so tightly only a moment before. The coyote's heart surged: yes! No, he would not be bested so easily! It was the softness of the wolf that played out his weakness and Durham was set to take full advantage of it as he squirmed and got his feet under him.

Then and only then did he pounce, the coyote's whole body following through with the motion. He committed to it as if his life was at stake, even though there was no real risk of harm to anyone there in the arena, especially not with Legoshi keeping an eye on everything like that. He bared his teeth, wriggling and squirming on top of the wolf, how bucked and heaved, struggling to get up onto all fours and throw him off, though the impact of Durham's pounce had knocked him flat down to the ground.

"Arrrgghhh!"

The wolf howled brokenly, but Durham grabbed at his arms, trying to slam them down on either side of his head, just to get access to his neck for a moment. A moment was all that he needed, no more than that, no more at all, for there was a nerve there that, when pinched, would knock the wolf out. Of course, it had rather been an awfully long time since the coyote had ever used that on someone - and, frankly, back then it had been for a joke. But he knew it was there as he fought and fought, striving for that upper hand.

The wolf heaved to the side, rolling them around, and the coyote went for his neck and that nerve. Unfortunately for him, Legoshi was not as lacking in skill as Durham had thought. Or more so that the wolf's skills and instincts kicked in more when he wasn't thinking so much about what he was doing and taking care about who he was doing it with.

The wolf growled, frustration at being tricked pulling and tickling in the pit of his stomach, though it really would have taken an awful lot to get him truly angry. He didn't want to be angry, but even he had to admit that anger gave him strength too, rolling over so that he was back on top of Durham in one fluid movement.

It was not quite the right position for a sleeper hold that he would have usually gone for, which would have rendered him behind the coyote, but Legoshi still knew how to press the attack in awkward situations. if he could not get Durham to admit when he had been bested then he would force him to submit, even if it was merely one way to make sure that Durham didn't do anything too to hurt himself by fighting back so hard against a hold. It just was so difficult for predators when things like that went directly against their instincts.

His arm went around the coyote's neck, locking him into the front sleeper hold, his other hand over the coyote's nose and mouth. With their snouts and muzzles, it was surprisingly easy to do, even as the coyote's eyes widened and he fought back even harder. Scissoring his legs around the coyote's, Legoshi growled, a little more of his wolfish instincts coming through and out at the point of "battle". Honestly, the wolf was glad that it had not been anything more than a play fight and that it was just one of his friends under him, his arm tightening more and more around the coyote's neck.

If it had been someone who had truly sought to harm him, well... That would have been a different matter entirely and the kind of situation that the wolf had been in before too.

The coyote fought and fought, but the pressure on his neck compressed a vein, denying him blood flow to important parts of his body. Inwardly, he cursed out the wolf for trying that trick on him, especially after he had been going for the nerve pinch, but he couldn't get out of it, grappling and pawing at Legoshi's arm. He didn't want to be there, wanted to be on top and in a dominant position, but it was not as easy as he wanted to think to flip positions, especially when the wolf was larger and heavier than him.

His mind drifted, slowing down. No harm would come as he lost consciousness, but it slowly became harder and harder to fight back against it, easier to slip down and down and down. The edges of his vision turned grey and blurry as he slowly lost consciousness, not knowing anymore if he was fighting back or not.

Only Legoshi, really, could stand in testament to that, one way or the other, as the struggles of the coyote in his sleeper hold slowly grew fainter and fainter, his legs giving up first, the weak scrape of his claws over the wolf's arm fading. Slowly but surely

"Just let it go, Durham," Legoshi said soothingly, wanting to make sure that his friend was okay too, despite everything. "It's okay, just let go, you're all okay."

The coyote would have, most likely, had something rude to snap back at him after that, but Legoshi pressed down even harder over his face with his hand. It stopped air from entering his lungs too even as the coyote faded against him, finally dropping solidly unconscious. It was not a fight that, frankly, the coyote had ever been prepared to win anyway.

But, maybe, just maybe, they would match up again in the arena, for Legoshi had to admit that the coyote had given him quite a run for his money and, in the end, Durham had fought well.

He laid the unconscious coyote down slowly, releasing the pressure, finally, that he had put on the dominant side of his neck, checking for breath coming in front of his nose and lips. Of course, the coyote would have to remain breathing despite everything, though it was a benefit to the game to have him knocked out.

Legoshi sighed, rubbing the back of his head and neck, not comfortable with the way things had played out there... But Durham had tried to trick him too and it seemed like everyone was going for it.

"I'm sorry for knocking you out, Durham," he said quietly, though knew too that the coyote could not hear him. "What next... Hm..."

He sealed away his words, not wanting to give away his location to Miguno, if the hyena was near. No, stealth was still what he had to focus on, at least when he was not engaged in wrestling or fighting with someone else.

A tile on the floor came with markings on it, which the sign up near the entrance, oddly typed out, had denoted to contain special items. His ears perked. That would be useful. The items were going to be randomised, which they had agreed to when the arena was being set up for them and what they had paid extra for, but it was worth it to add a little bit extra to the challenge. It wouldn't have been as fun as it was if they all knew that they could head over to any specific tile and find something useful to them. It could have just been trash or something that they didn't even know how to use, after all...

He tapped the tile until he found the button that levered it up in the corner, popping up with a hinge on the top side. The wolf lifted it slowly, not wanting to make any extra noise, though that was still very much easier said than done as it grated lightly. Legoshi flinched from the sound.

"Damn it..."

Yet what was under the tile surprised him: just a rag with a bottle. His brow furrowed, though it took him no time at all, reading the back of the bottle, to work out that it was a sleep aid. Or, more accurately, it was a sedative and a powerful one too. The warnings said that it would knock out a carnivore but not cause brain damage or any damage to other organs, which had the wolf breathing a sigh of relief.

There, that would make things a lot easier for him, when he didn't have to worry about using his strength too much and hurting his friends. He would rather have had a rope to deal with the more immediate issue of tying up Durham, but, well, beggars couldn't be choosers, not in the end. He had what he had and the chloroform-type sedative was going to be very useful to him.

He crouched down, looking over the bottle, making sure that he knew how to open it, that it would not get stuck right at the point that he wanted to use it, but the wolf should have been more attentive to his surroundings. For he did not realise that the very coyote that he had wanted to tie up had woken up more quickly than anyone could have expected.

Durham kept quiet, a smirk on his lips, not all that bothered about Legoshi getting the upper hand over him, not after they had had such an even fight before. It set his blood alight to have an opponent that he could fight like that, letting his instincts rule - right along with the fight training that they had all had before. It was so much better than being brutish with teeth and claws...

The sofa was close and he used it to shield him until the very moment that he leapt and lunged, air brushing by his fur. His arms lashed out, hands groping, pinching, finding the nerves on his sides, under his arms. It was an easier point to pinch and attack than his neck, especially when the wolf had been leaning forward and crouching down. He didn't want to risk going for the neck again when he was not as swift at pinching the right spot, something that he was going to have to look up later.

His fingers drove home through the wolf's fur, however, and Legoshi groaned as he crumpled to the ground, legs folding, nose tipping down, though he remained stuck on his knees, not knowing how to pull strength into them while a shot of paralysis launched through his upper body. What was wrong? What had gotten him? Of course, it could only be the coyote, for no one else had been near, but he reeled in shock all the same. Dimly, the wolf was aware of the bottle and rag dropping to the ground before him as his arms fell heavy, paralysis clutching them, but...he just couldn't do nothing. Legoshi wasn't quite sure what had happened, but tried to fight back, his mind urging him to get up, to do something with his legs, even though his body felt strange and heavy.

"Aha-ha!"

The coyote grinned, loving the moment as he took over, pressing in close and going for the wolf's legs too. Those nerves were behind the knees, enough to make a leg jerk and jostle as weakness spread through, though no carnivore would be in control of their bodies when that nerve pinch had been applied.

The nerve pinch paralyzed him in such a position, the wolf well and truly stuck on his knees with the coyote dropping down a little so that his muzzle pressed up to Legoshi's ear.

"Nerve pinches aren't banned," he said, a chuckle on his lips as he reminded the wolf that he hadn't done anything truly untoward. "Not like the strikes... You went for one yourself, Legoshi, so you can't honestly argue that..."

Legoshi groaned. That wasn't what he was going to say, though his tongue didn't work, not moving properly in his mouth. He was all locked up and stiff and things did not quite come as he wanted them to, as if his use and effectiveness of his muscles had suddenly shifted to the side, leaving him lost and not even knowing how to move.

He couldn't even grunt properly, his vocal cords not where he had "left them", everything out of sync. The coyote laughed lightly, though there was no malice in it as he rested his head on top of Legoshi's shoulder, ears twitching, his front pressed firmly up against the wolf's back as he held him there. It was the coyote who was supporting Legoshi in that moment, the wolf trapped on his knees, all as Durham reached casually for the rag and the bottle.

The wolf panted, breath raking through his windpipe. No... No, it couldn't happen like that! His indignation at being bested thrummed up, but he still shook his head, flopping it weakly from right to left, trying to go back again and not managing it. He was merely forced to watch as the coyote poured the sedative into the rag, rubbing it into the cloth, which looked soft and almost silky in texture, taking his time.

Oh, it made it so much worse when there was no rush to it, when a carnivore knew that he was stuck there, whether he wanted to be or not. The coyote placed the bottle down carefully, cap back in place, using his now freed hand to push Legoshi's head back against his chest.

"Got to keep you in place to go to sleep, don't we?" He teased, almost in a big brotherly fashion, though their friendship still rang through everything. "Relax, Legoshi, I'm going to make this easy for you, all for you to go to sleep."

The coyote whined, a little excited to be back in a position of control - or more just winning, yes, winning. He liked to win and he liked to come out on top and, really, was there anything wrong with that? It was the way he was and he folded the cloth around the wolf's mouth and nose even as he twitch-struggled against him. The paralysis would not last for long, he knew, but the sedative worked swiftly, making the wolf's eyes glaze over, as if Legoshi was not truly seeing what was right there in front of him.

Legoshi struggled against the paralysis, grunting into the cloth, striving with all his might to fight the cloudy, dragging sleepiness washing over him. It was as if his head was being forced underwater, even though he could still breathe. All he was breathing in was what was on the cloth, a sickly, cloying aroma flooding his nostrils, as if it was clinging to the inside of his respiratory system, infiltrating deeply into every last little corner. His nose twitched, trying to bristle back against it, though the wolf could not even be sure if his lips even twitched, not at that time.

He had to fall. Damn it.

But the coyote had him firmly, folding it around, though the wolf was not yet done. A little sensation returned to his arms and he grunted into the makeshift sedative gag as his arms came up, however shakily and weakly, shoving at the coyote. All he had to do was to get him off him, to shove him back, to get himself some kind of space...but that was a lot harder than Legoshi gave it the due credit, especially with Durham bearing down around his mouth and nose with such force. He just wasn't given an iota of space as he squeezed the soaked cloth around his muzzle, some of the liquid even soaking into Legoshi's fur.

Still, the wolf was larger and stronger - and it would take more to knock him out than anything applied similarly would have for the coyote. With an almighty heave, as some shaky feeling started to come back to his legs, the wolf strained to get up, pressing back from the coyote for leverage, fingers curled around his shoulders as he gripped.

Shit!

_ _

Durham growled, not knowing what else to do, his mind jumping from one thing to the next, not knowing what to do. Shit! The wolf was supposed to have been knocked out by that point! He flailed mentally, panicking and jittering about, but, by that point, the wolf was struggling back up, swinging a leg out in a leg sweep, trying to grapple with him. The wolf's hands groped and pinched and Durham started back in shock. He was going for a nerve pinch too! But he couldn't just let go of the cloth around Legoshi's muzzle either, trying to trust that it would work, that it would knock him out, for it was the best shot that he had at that moment.

If he let go of the soaked cloth, he would lose his advantage...

The wolf's grabbing fingers jerked up far too close to the nerve on the coyote's neck for comfort and Durham jolted back, gasping, though he still did not let go, despite the nerves twisting and turning in the pit of his stomach.

Alas... Well, for Legoshi not Durham, the sedative still did its work. The wolf's legs trembled more from the sedative as he slumped down back to his knees with a thud and Durham leaned over him, holding his head and neck as if he was trying to get into a sleeper hold, but he was really just pressing in as close as possible to hold the wolf there. He had to keep the cloth in place, wishing he could swipe the bottle with a free hand, but both of his hands were in use at that time. If there was even more of the sedative, he surely would have been able to do more, more quickly too...

Still, the wolf growled weaker and swaying lightly from side to side helped him a bit, succumbing fully, at last, dropping down and down and down into the soft darkness of falling unconscious. Durham grinned, though the wolf would never see how that was a breath of relief brushing his lips at the same time.

"It's okay, Legoshi," he reassured the wolf, bold enough to stroke Legoshi's head softly, rubbing the space between his ears. "It's okay to keep breathing it in, letting yourself go to sleep. Everything's okay, you don't have to worry about it."

He didn't know whether that helped or not, but he had to try, for he didn't want the wolf to worry either. Maybe Legoshi had struck a nerve with him in how he had shown concern and he wanted to make sure that his friend wasn't worried either, that it was all just a game, even if the stakes suddenly felt quite high for everyone.

It was just a bit of fun, but, eventually, the wolf lost consciousness, slipping asleep with a deep sigh.

"Goodnight, Legoshi."

Durham smiled, watching the wolf fall asleep, though he kept the cloth there for a good while, ears pricked, though the coyote was fairly sure that Jack wouldn't be able to sneak up on him in there. The strange little living room around him still looked unnerving in how it had been staged, but the coyote hoped that it was, at least in some way, reassuring for Legoshi.

He laid the wolf down gently on his back, smirking a little as a very wicked little idea came to mind. Was that too much? He considered it, rubbing his muzzle, glancing down at Legoshi's nearly nude body. Nah, it would never be.

"Smile, Legoshi!"

Durham laughed, though there was no mean spirit in it, not as he grabbed his phone from the waistband of his speedo, tucked in by his hip, and put his foot up on Legoshi's chest for a pose and a selfie. He posed with his foot pointing down the length of the wolf's body, towards his feet, wriggling his toes into the wolf's thick yet soft fur. He would never have thought that Legoshi would be as soft as he was, but he didn't spare much thought of it as he snapped a selfie, holding the phone up over his head and pointing it down so that he could get a good shot of his tongue-lolling grin.

"Cheeeeese!"

It was silly, but it was the moment for silliness, the brashness slipping from him, just a little. He wriggled his toes, shifting so that he swapped to his left foot and did another pose on Legoshi's face. The weight of his foot, even though he did not bear down fully on the wolf's cheek with his toes pointing across his muzzle, towards Legoshi's dark nose, made the wolf's face squash into a ridiculous face, his pink tongue poking out a bit. The coyote smirked, pleased, at long last, that he had bested Legoshi in a fight. It had certainly been a long time coming with all their training bouts...

However, he was still glad to be able to show off his physical prowess a little bit, even if a coyote's sneaky slyness had to come into play in a small way too. It was just the way that Durham was and he was never going to apologise for showing his species' traits, not when it came through in the same way as everyone else. Perhaps being something of a scavenger and having a rather lenient "five-second rule" was the worse of the ways though...

The pictures, however, as he took another with his foot on Legoshi's face, wrapping it up with a smirk and a raised eyebrow, showing off, would show as clear proof that he had finally beaten Legoshi in a fight. And that was going to have to be more than good enough for him.

Taking a moment to send the selfies to Miguno - the hyena was going to have a fit when he saw them! - the coyote asked him to meet him back at the start zone, sending a quick text message. Hopefully, the hyena had not put his phone down anywhere, that would be annoying. Still, he had to get the wolf back over there, somehow, to find out where he had hidden the flag and, ultimately, to win the game.

Easy, right?

He got his arms under Legoshi's, into the armpits, dragging him back.

"Unff!"

The wolf was a lot heavier than he looked, but Durham still pressed on, ears flat to his head as he backed out of the room, still hoping that Jack wasn't about and behind him. That really would not have been a moment that he would have liked to look back on, being come upon by the dog that, kind of, he had been mocking with the manga before. Jack had simply been too easy-going to really notice anything amiss and, in the end, it had been Miguno who had come back and debated with him, back at B-Strike.

Oh, well. Sometimes things didn't go to plan, but there was still a very proud smirk on his face as he hauled Legoshi out of the small rooms and all the way back to where he and Miguno began in the arena. It was near where their flag was hidden, so that Miguno could keep an eye on it too while they were split up, the hyena's ears twitching. His jaw dropped and it was all that Durham could do not to let his chest puff up with pride at his capture - even if he had captured the wolf and not the flag. Not yet at least.

"Dude - no way!" Miguno exclaimed, jaw hanging slack, comically so. "Really? I thought you guys were messing with me!"

Durham rolled his eyes.

"You think that I'd turn on you and send you victory poses," he said, "for what? We're on the same team!"

Miguno shrugged.

"Yeah, but," the hyena countered. "It wouldn't be unheard of for you to suddenly go off on your own either."

Durham sighed, managing to hold back the roll of his eyes.

"Look, come on, I'm in it properly this time. "Help me tie him up?"

They were somewhat okay with knots, which was helpful, dragging out a small table that could have been used as a tea table or for snacking. It was low enough for them to elevate Legoshi's back onto it, forcing the unconscious wolf to lie out lengthways along it, his tail hanging loosely over the end. His legs were tied to the legs of the table, though had to be lashed together with rope too, making sure that he could not kick out. They wanted him in that specific position, however, as the table was just long enough to tie his arms up over his head to the legs on the other end of the table, stretching him out fully and preventing him from twisting and really getting any leverage behind any twists or thrusts of his body.

After all, Durham didn't want to make the same mistake of underestimating Legoshi for a second time.

Luckily, it seemed that Miguno had found an excellent stash of rope while he'd been hunting, which aided them in making sure that even the wolf's midriff was lashed down. His arms strained all the way back up over his head, the ropes as taut as they could make them, not making things at all easy for the wolf.

That wasn't part of the game. Durham chuckled faintly and tapped the wolf on the muzzle once he was secure, wiggling him back and forth, lightly and playfully. It was nothing that Legoshi would have allowed him to do if he was awake, but, well, sometimes times like that called for pushing the limits just a little bit. A small voice, one that the coyote most usually suppressed, told him that the wolf would and could most certainly get him back for it at another time.

"Wake up, Legoshi," he laughed, teasing the wolf more than taunting him. "We need to know where the flaaaag is!"

Miguno rolled his eyes at the coyote's, only halfway, sing-song voice, as if he was not committing fully to anything. That was the way Durham was, however, and it only came out even more when they were off on their own together.

Under them, the wolf groaned, blinking, eyelids fluttering. Miguno grinned, heart pounding. Ah, so the game really was beginning! It had not been all that much of a game for him, not so far, considering that he had been the one hunting and gathering supplies while Durham had gotten to tangle with Legoshi. After seeing that the coyote had managed to bring down the wolf, he wondered if he would have been just as successful with Legoshi.

Probably not, but the only way to find out something like that was by trying. And the others gave him the confidence, even then, to step just a little bit more out of his comfort zone.

"Wake up, Legoshi," Durham said, dragging out his words that time into a long, slow drawl. "Wake up..."

The wolf groaned, though he didn't know where he was, only that he was waking up, that he was coming back to full consciousness, horrifically slowly. His head felt dull and heavy, though it was, thankfully, clearing. He couldn't imagine what he would have to do if his head stayed feeling like that all day, though it was as if every breath made him feel a little lighter, a little more himself.

And yet...the wolf was not somewhere comfortable, not by a long shot. He grunted, though it was too late to try to hide that he was waking up, despite everything. What had happened? Where was he? He didn't want to worry too much, didn't want to think too much, though Legoshi had to come back to full wakefulness as quickly as possible if he wanted to win the game, if he wanted to have any chance of capturing the flag.

Ah... Damn it! He remembered, eyes snapping open to capture Miguno and Durham in his sights. Capture the flag! That was what he'd been doing and he'd been with Durham! He scowled, annoyed to be bested, struggling at his bonds, wishing that he could wipe those twin grins right off their smirking faces.

"Unff... Hey, what gives?"

He panted heavily, dragging much-needed breath back into his lungs. Yet that wasn't going to do him any good while he was tied up, even though it made him feel as if he was more himself again, strength pouring back into his limbs like a glug of water. He could almost feel it running down his throat, giving him strength, even as he glared up at them.

"So, Legoshi," Miguno said, propping his foot up on the table next to the wolf's head, leaning over him, though the hyena did not end up as intimidating as he would have liked to be. "Where is the flag? If you tell us, we won't have to get harsh with you!"

Legoshi scoffed in their faces, rolling his eyes at that.

"Yeah, sure," he shot back. "As if you too would even know anything about getting rough and harsh. I'm not telling you where the flag is - Jack will have that well-hidden! You're never going to find it!"

He grinned, showcasing bravado despite his situation. Legoshi had always been able to find hope despite everything, though that situation was not dire at all. He could have laughed right there and then. To think that they were trying to intimidate him! He grinned, not letting the hyena and coyote get the better of him, though he tugged surreptitiously at his bonds. Did the ones around his wrists loosen at all, or was it just his imagination? Legoshi would have to keep subtly twisting and tugging, just to tell, just to see if he could get himself free again.

"Oh, do you think so?" Durham said. "But... We haven't even started torturing you yet!"

Legoshi gave him a flat look, ears back. As if that was ever going to happen. Yet the coyote leaned in, smirking, as if he had an ace in his deck that he had not revealed to Legoshi, keeping his hand of cards truly hidden.

"Well, I guess if you're not going to talk," Durham went on, "it's time for the tickle monster!"

He posed dramatically, putting a flair on the last word, though, that time, even Miguno could not help but get into it. The hyena laughed and curled his fingers menacingly, as if every part of him and his body was poised for tickling, though that very much could not be considered a kind of torture in how they were planning to use it. It was the perfect plan, really, even for the hyena, especially considering that no one there honestly wanted to hurt any of their friends, knowing how rough some of their games and challenges could get, from time to time.

The wolf tried to reel back, his jaw dropping, but there was nowhere for him to go, not even in an expression of shock. What were they on about? They couldn't seriously do something like that to him - that was for cubs and pups and things! Not fully-grown carnivores like they were! Yet Miguno and Durham seemed too caught up in the moment to stop as the coyote pounced, choosing his target for the ease of access he had at that moment.

The coyote had thought through his plan of attack well, using the tips of his fingers and the sharper, raking tips of his black claws for the best effect, pulling through the wolf's fur as he tickled his sides. His fingers danced up and down, all the way up to the point of his exposed underarms and down again, leaving no spot untouched. Of course, the wolf's stomach was perfectly exposed in such a position too, allowing his fingers to take advantage of that. Durham wasn't even paying attention to the reactions of the wolf as he forced Legoshi's body to respond, too busy focusing on his work, his fingers wriggling and dancing and tapping, all to drive the wolf wild with laughter.

"Ahahahahhahahaaaaa - nooooo, c'mon!"

The wolf laughed, belting it out, though he didn't mean to beg like that, it was more that he could not believe they were stooping so low as to tickle him! It was almost as bad as the dirty trick of using the nerve pinches, though it was not as if he hadn't tried that one on them too. Tears brimmed in the corners of his eyes, but Legoshi blinked rapidly, trying with all his might to force them back, though they were still coming.

It was just a lot! He clamped his jaws shut against the laughter that he knew, that time, was brimming up, threatening to burst free from his lips, though Legoshi at least knew that time that he could clamp his jaws down against it. He could use his bite strength against himself, though his tongue ached and flicked up against the inside of his teeth, all as he jolted and tried to fight the natural instinct of his body to attempt to jerk away.

Of course, while he was tied down, there was simply nowhere for him to go. He fought down the snarl, even as his chest heaved, but the coyote's fingers were relentless, though it was still embarrassing in some way to be caught in such a position. Their state of undress was not so much of a problem, to be fair, but the prickle of those ticklish claws raking down his sides. He hadn't even considered the notion before that his stomach could be so ticklish too! Why was that part of him so ticklish?

The coyote grinned, using everything he had against the wolf, his fingers pulling over his stomach lightly, tickling faintly, though the varying sensations produced an even more intense reaction. He kept the wolf deliberately on the edge, never sure where the next attack was going to come from, but that was just the way that Durham liked it. He wanted Legoshi to be on the back foot for once, not the quiet wolf who was always on the side-lines watching everything, though the wolf very much was the centre of attention at that time. There was little else that could be done there, trapping Legoshi under the ropes, though the table rocked a little, not quite as heavy as they might have liked it to be.

Cautiously, Durham put a knee up on the table so that he could get over the wolf a little more, offering him greater reach, tickling his sides. He danced his fingers around, sometimes tickling his left side with both hands - or the right - and sometimes using both hands on opposite sides of Legoshi's body. In that way, he made everything so much more sensitive than it had any right to be, drawing a rise of blood to the skin that was hidden under the wolf's fur. After his tickle fights with his brothers when he had been younger, he more than knew how a little tickling could elicit a great reaction.

The wolf, however, fought his laughter, only a crude giggle breaking his lips from time to time. It was time, certainly, to up the ante. Miguno was set to join in, however, smirking as he tickled Legoshi's feet. They were tied together so that he could more easily get to both at once, though the reaction from the wolf was ten times franker.

"Awwwwoooooo-hahahahahaha!"

Miguno chuckled along with Legoshi, for the wolf's abrasive laughter was a little contagious, making even the hyena want to laugh along with him. When was even the last time that he had heard the wolf laugh like that, a full belly laugh that could not be held back through any means? He had never been down so low to the wolf's feet before, but he didn't think anything of it, especially when the wolf was tied up. The power difference between them, however, could not be denied, having the taller Legoshi down and bound where he couldn't even fight back, forced to submit to the so-called "tickle monster".

Things were not always that simple, however, even if they were, in a way, childish right then and there. He laughed lightly, amused by Legoshi's laughter, how it burst from his lips in a broken sort of gurgling howl, tickling him ruthlessly. His fingers played back and forth across Legoshi's feet, focusing on the toes for the moment. The fleshy pads of the toes were fascinating to him, different to what a hyena bore, though they were a little tougher too, as if he had been running barefoot for some time.

"Awwwooo-ahahahahahahahaaaah!"

The wolf howled and Miguno pressed the attack, his fingers prodding between the large gaps between the wolf's toes. However, it was quite as if the wolf was trying to encourage and entice him in, even if the stretching out and splaying of his toes was just something that happened when Legoshi didn't even have another option available to him. His body fought back, straining and fighting, but there simply was nowhere for him to go, none at all. The hyena's lips quirked in a wicked little smirk, tail twitching, yet that was not something that the wolf could catch.

There was not much at all that Legoshi could catch while he was laughing that hard, sides clearly aching, sweating faintly from the force of his bound exertion. Miguno glanced up at the coyote, watching how his fingers went up under the wolf's arms, using the exposed fur there to get at the skin, to really dig his claws in and tickle Legoshi ruthlessly. That was all they wanted to take from the wolf, after all, to force him to such a point that he couldn't help but give up the location of the flag, even though they were getting rather more into it than they should have been.

But sometimes that was just the way things went and they had found a way to make their games and trials together a lot more interesting, the hyena focusing on the sole and heel of Legoshi's foot, working his way down. The more he concentrated on tickling the wolf's feet, the more he found sensitive spots, parts of the foot that forced the wolf to kick and try to flail, as if the mere notion of having control over his own body was beyond him.

Legoshi heaved for breath, his eyes wet with tears, though it was not as if he was in such a position to fight back. He tried to say something, anything to get them to stop, but that didn't help, wheezing out words that barely sounded anything at all like words at all.

"Huhhhhhhhh..." He groaned. "Ssssttttoooop-p-p."

He couldn't tell whether he was forcing words out, in all honesty, or not. But he had to try, annoyed by how the corners of his eyes were wet, how it felt like there was too much saliva in his mouth. Even the mere act of swallowing the excess saliva seemed beyond him.

Thankfully for him, they paused, eyeing him up expectantly. The coyote's hand remained on his stomach, however, as if he was ready to resume tickling the very moment that he thought that it was required.

"Are you ready to give up the flag's location?" Durham said, his voice mock serious. "Or do we need to resume tickling?"

The wolf heaved and panted, trying to grab onto all the breaths that he could, though that was more difficult than usual, so very much more difficult.

"Unff..." He didn't want to force the words out too quickly, biding his time, getting all the time to recover that he possibly could. "I...think..."

But he had to say eventually.

"I will never give up the location," he declared, raising his voice all that he could, a gleam in his eye. "Never!"

He didn't have to be so serious, but Jack was still out there and he wanted to hold out hope that the dog would be able to take care of things. After all, there was still a chance that he would be able to get free, even if Legoshi, at that time, did not have any idea about what was happening or how he was going to do it. He was a resourceful wolf, after all...

Miguno huffed and rolled his eyes, showing a rare bit of annoyance.

"Then we'll just have to keep tickling until you give in!"

The wolf tried to protest, but he didn't have the chance to, not even then, straining against his bonds, heaving and panting through peals of echoing laughter. There was no way that Jack could not have heard him, but the duo there were ruthless. Miguno grabbed his left foot, using the bound leverage on it to hold the other in place as he danced his fingers across the arch and around to the back of the heel. It was there that Miguno found an especially sweet spot that had Legoshi kicking and struggling to break free even more than before, grunting, heaving, berating himself mentally for even getting into a situation like that.

"Yarrrrrgggghhhh-hahahahahahahhhhh!"

He made ridiculous noises, more and more annoyed with himself, but there was no holding any of it back until he strained for every breath. Laughter didn't allow much time to breathe as his toes were flicked, the sharp flash of ticklish sensation making him flinch, every new sensation coming up in sharp contrast to all that had gone before.

The coyote was just as relentless on his sides and stomach, though it proved to be Legoshi's sides that were more ticklish than his stomach, which made sense when it came to the wolf's anatomy. Durham even had the gall to laugh at him as he traced his fingers in ridiculously twitching, ticklish motions down the wolf's sides, taunting him with his inability to fight back.

"Aaaaarrrggghhhh!"

Legoshi wanted to do something, anything, but he was lost, especially when Durham's wicked fingers made their way down his sides, closer to the bones of his hips. That was, ultimately, the worst of all, for the little hollows just above those bones were sensitive, so much so that he jerked from left to right and back again, not so much enjoying the moment. Laughing, almost, was nice, but those fingers wriggling and tracing, pressing down just to give him a jolt of extra ticklish sensation were very much not.

Yet the wolf knew, despite his bold words, there was only so much that he could do to fight them off. Miguno had found a particularly touchy spot right up close to his toes, but still on the sole of his foot, and he couldn't get away from it, not as the hyena ruthlessly attacked it on both of his feet at once. He howled, laughter breaking through, and he knew that he could not hold out for much longer.

_ _

Damn it...

"Alright... Alright!" He gasped out, tears fully streaming down his face. "I'll... I'll tell!"

Legoshi groaned at the relief his words brought. Good heavens, he never again, not ever in his life, wanted to be tickled like that ever again! It was too much, very much too much for him, leaving him a panting, heaving, sweaty mess that really had no business at all being splayed out on a table as he was. Legoshi groaned, head rolling back, fighting the urge to pant with his mouth open, tongue lolling out. In such a position, it would not be at all comfortable for him.

"So..." Miguno laughed, though it was all in good humour. "You've finally conceded that we've won then, hm?"

Legoshi frowned but found that that took too much effort.

"The game's not over yet..."

"Then tell us where the flag is," Durham said bluntly. "Or we'll just keep tickling you, it's quite simple!"

Growing a bit tired, Durham was a little coarser than he would have been, but a break was gladly received for more than just Legoshi. A vindictive thrill shot through him at besting the wolf yet again. And who would have thought that all it took was a good dose of tickling to get him to cave?

Legoshi sighed.

"It's... It's hidden in a tower room, one that you must climb a wall to get to," he said, clearly hating every moment of being forced to reveal the flag's location, just to get a respite from the tickling. "You get it there."

"What does the wall look like, the tower thing?" Durham pressed.

Legoshi groaned.

"Do you have to get every detail? It's a grey wall and there's fake ivy growing up it. The tower is sort of bulging out of the wall, as if it's built into the arena as part of the set. It's on the east side."

Durham grinned.

"Was that so difficult? Miguno, can you go find it? You're better at climbing than me."

The hyena nodded and darted off, already considering all the things that he was going to get Legoshi and Jack to do while he had both as his slaves for the week. Even if he had to share with Durham, but he could worry about that later.

Durham grinned down at Legoshi, tail stiffly lifted in pride at his victory. Finally! That had taken more than long enough, but if that was all that it took to get Legoshi to give things up in the future, he would use that tickling trick repeatedly. The wolf had to be hoping that Jack would find a way to best Miguno, as it was going to be a one-on-one fight, at least, but there was only so much that he could consider from his bound position.

"This will secure our victory - it's only a matter of time, Legoshi," the coyote laughed, revelling in triumph already. "Just stay still now, Legoshi, I think I've got more than enough time for a few more photos."

Thankfully, the table was strong enough for him to take his weight too, posing with his left foot up on Legoshi's stomach and his right foot placed further back, on the table itself. As long as the wolf did not jerk or move to the extent that he could, he was fine there, holding up his phone to snap yet another selfie photo while he was in a position of power and control. That was good, at least, something that he could lean into, something that he could enjoy.

The coyote adjusted his position, wriggling his foot on Legoshi's stomach, smirking down at him while the wolf puffed out his cheeks in annoyance.

"Are you really going to do that?"

Durham ignored him. There was no need to pay attention, not then, to the wolf, not as he wriggled his toes and put a little more pressure down through his heel. The wolf's fur was sweaty after his ordeal and clumped together, tickling his foot a little, but he ignored that, his foot pointing directly across the wolf's stomach. He bore down a little more where he could feel the wolf's muscle, striking a power pose, flexing his arms and muscles up on either side of his head. He had to stop with one arm, of course, to take another photo, but it was the teasing humiliation that counted.

Legoshi grumbled, turning his head away. The coyote was so annoying... He was going to delete those photos too as soon as he got out of the ropes!

Miguno, on the other hand, skulked close to where Legoshi had said the flag had been hidden. The tower blended in well, but it was the fake ivy crawling up the side that gave it away, his eyes following the path of it up and the metal railing-like bars that would allow him to climb. He wasn't much one for heights and struck off at a jog, intent on getting it done and his victory secured.

"I don't think you're going any further."

Miguno muttered a curse under his breath, turning to face Jack, the golden canine.

"Hey, Jack," he said. "I don't suppose you're going to make this easy for me, are you?"

The dog panted and shook his head, tongue lolling out, quite casually.

"Nope! Besides, it was Durham who was having a thing against dogs... But I'll still fight you anyway!"

The hyena sighed, brushing his hand back through the fur of his head. But he was ready, circling the dog as they both sank into light fighting poses, always moving, knees a little bent so that they could leap to attack and grapple.

Jack lunged first, though the hyena would never know what move he was going for as he pulled from his Judo knowledge, their arms latching onto one another's shoulders. Before the dog could get him into a true grapple, he pulled Jack towards him, knocking him off-balance where he was not expecting it, and then used a knee wheel on the outside of the leg that was closest to him to knock him over.

The dog spun, flipping with a yelp away from the hyena, though the wheel-like motion dropped him easier to the ground. Miguno laughed aloud, pressing the attack, though he didn't like to be down on the ground for long. He forced the supine dog into a boston crab hold, Jack face-down still as the hyena lunged over him, grabbing his legs and hauling them up between his arms. He modified the move slightly by adding a knee to Jack's back, the dog yelping in pain as the pressure increased.

"Unff... No!"

But the dog shook him off, the two of them more evenly matched in size and strength than they had considered before. Still on the ground, however, they barely got up to their knees before Jack was wrestling and grappling with him again, awkwardly getting him into a headlock and trying to increase the pressure.

Jack growled. He was not naturally an aggressive anthro, not by a long shot, but fighting like that drove on something deep in him, something primal. Dogs would most usually only fight in play, as if they were preparing for the real thing, but he wrangled the hyena into a sleeper hold, pressing his dominant arm across the hyena's throat and bearing down with as much pressure as he dared.

Unlike Legoshi, he did not hold back, not knowing his own strength and how great it was as much as the wolf. Perhaps that was a fault on Jack's part, but he knew no harm, not as Miguno's eyes bulged and he wheezed openly, the move putting more pressure on his windpipe than the point of the pulse in his neck. He didn't quite know what he was doing there and squeezed just as hard as he could, the hyena struggling even as he got weaker.

Miguno would have snapped at the dog if he had been in a position to do so, though it was still considered quite rude for a carnivore to show another carnivore their teeth. He grunted, digging his claws into the dog's soft skin, though Jack did not have as much will to stop him at that point. The dog yelped and pulled away, giving the hyena the break that he needed to try for another submission move, but the canine was still agile, able to twist around on his knees to face Miguno again.

They grappled, hands locked together, snarling, though Miguno showed his teeth more than the dog did. It was hard for him to be intimidated by Jack, especially after they had spent as much time together as they had in the past, grunting and heaving, chests starting to mat with sweat from the sheer exertion of the fight.

"Give in, Jack," he panted. "Should have gotten that hold tighter while you had the chance!"

"I'm not giving up the flag!" Jack bit back, eyes gleaming with a feral, wild intensity that, honestly, the hyena had not seen on him before. "This...unff...is too important!"

Maybe the dog had far greater stakes in the fight than the hyena had given him credit for, but, well, Miguno was not bothered by that. They were too evenly matched for strength as he shoved the dog away, breaking free but not gaining his feet again.

Jack was too quick for that, not wanting to give up any kind of advantage that he had taken as he faced Miguno's side and knocked him down, straddling one of the hyena's legs. He was going for an abdominal stretch and he fought the squirming hyena as he reached right over to grab his arm and lock it close to Miguno's back, right in the position where it would be hardest for him to fight. He had thought through that one carefully as he squatted to gain the advantage and twisted violently to the side, locking the hyena between his legs and arms, stretching his abdomen as Miguno's back was flexed.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Miguno howled and Jack grinned, knowing that he had him on the rocks. That was just the way that he wanted it, leaving the hyena exposed, though he would have to bear down even harder, using all his strength against him.

"Give...up," Jack puffed. "It'll be...easier...for you..."

Miguno growled, snapping, but the dog simply didn't have the strength to hold him in that. He kicked out, jostling Jack enough to gain an inch - and then taking more, much more. With a heave and a shove, he got out of the painful abdominal stretch, though he didn't want to hold on too much to the surprise that Jack had been able to lock him in it. On the ground, however, he was about able to get in close, his arms around the hyena, going for a triangle choke. It would have been a move that brought his arms around the hyena's neck and his legs around his body in a shape that kind of looked like a triangle, but it was not always that easy with an opponent who, at the very least, was experienced enough and matched well enough with him to fight back as he did.

He tried, using his weight to drag the hyena down, but Miguno twisted away before Jack could put pressure on it, curses shared and tossed through the air between them. They'd gotten into the fight more than they had honestly expected, but that was not entirely a bad thing as they grappled again, hands going for nerve points, though no notes were struck there.

They dropped, legs around one another, somehow ended up in a double scissor hold, which was fitting for the two of them, considering just how even the fight had been between them. And it was a more than fitting way for it to end too with them both testing their strength, waiting and holding out to see just which of them would break first.

"Unff... Give up!"

"Nnnggghhh... Never!"

They squeezed their legs around their opponent's head, bearing down on their instep, a move that they could both truly focus on pulling off accurately. Hands grabbed weakly, the strain on their bodies too much, Jack's vision wavering, little by little, though he panted as lightly as he could. If he could hold his breathing even, maybe he would get through it and still find himself, one way or the other, to be the victor.

It was all they could do, weakening more and more and more, even Miguno fighting unconsciousness. Yet one of them had to give in sooner or later, even if they were knocked out and, therefore, the loser - and the hyena was determined very much so to not be that loser!

He had to try, had to hold onto his strength, though he feared that his legs were not going to be strong enough to carry him through. Regardless of that, he knew it was more about technique than brute power when it came to the two of them and he had to trust that his technique was good enough.

The stakes, truly, were not high, even though they thought they were. Jack grunted, not even trying to bare his teeth anymore, not when he had so much more to focus on. the pressure around his head and neck was immense and the dog didn't want to think about how his head was pressing back and up into the hyena's crotch, though the line of Miguno's hip caught his eye too. Giving himself a millimetre more of breathing space, relieving the pressure a tiny bit, there was only so much that he could do, but he gave himself that much.

Maybe, just maybe, it would be enough.

His vision wavered, greying out, blurry, though he didn't know whether that was his slow, slipping grasp on consciousness or his concern over failing, over losing. All he knew was that he had to press on, that he had to keep on, that he had to do something, had to keep going, had to keep using his instep to apply the most pressure possible. Even as that slow, clawing drag of unconsciousness pulled him down and down and down...

The hyena didn't give, but they only had so much strength in them, fading, their hold on consciousness sliding through their fingers like thin string, as if it had never truly been a thing of any substance at all. Still, they fought, breathing weaker and weaker, fading and failing, more and more and more.

On the edge of unconsciousness, neither would have been deemed successful, if not for the sudden burst of energy, that fighting spirit, one had at the pinnacle moment...

However, Jack was not down and out, not yet, the dog managing to break free. His head swum and spun, but he was a step ahead of the hyena who gasped on the ground. They panted heavily, grasping at great, heaving breaths of air, though it was not particularly easy, no, not at all, not when he was on all fours, blinking, crawling, trying to find an edge.

And it came to him in a burst of understanding, another tile under his hands, which concealed something that may help him in the games. He unlatched it with shaky hands, blinking at his find. It was a plant... One that he had heard about in classes before, but, well...he couldn't be picky. It came with a pestle and mortar, intended to be used as a weapon of some kind, though Jack knew too that it was not going to harm Miguno.

"Quickly, quickly..."

He muttered to himself as he hastened along, the hyena recovering behind him, though more slowly than Jack had. He worked swiftly with the tools, grinding the hallucinogenic, mesmerising plant all the way down into the finest powder that he could manage. It would not be the best delivery system of something like that, but, ultimately, it would have to do.

"Guuuhhh..."

Miguno just about got to his knees when Jack closed the distance between them, blowing a puff of the powder into his face. And, just like that, the world softened around the edges, the hyena blinking and turning his head back and forth, not knowing what it was that he was seeing. It was all colourful, shapes shifting, as if what he was seeing there was not reality...but it felt okay too.

"Miguno... Miguno..."

The hyena grunted.

"Show me the flag, Miguno..."

There was something around his wrists, rope, but Miguno did not have the strength in him to complain as he stared at the yellow dog filling his vision. Dimly, he was aware that his hands were bound together and that he was tied up, but it didn't feel all that bad. Nothing, in fact, felt bad at all.

"Jaaaack..."

"Yes, Miguno," the canine said, his voice soft and soothing. "Show me the flag, Miguno, it's okay, everything is alright."

Well, if the dog said that everything was alright then it had to be, didn't it? He knew where the flag was, yes, not realising that he had been made more suggestible by the fine powder, that he wasn't supposed to be showing Jack where the flag was.

When they were nearly there, Miguno blinked more rapidly and rubbed his face, snuffling. Jack's ears perked up, hand at the ready with the last of the powder in it.

"Uh... What... Where..."

Before the hyena could fully wake up, snuffling through the after-effects of the powder, Jack blew the last of it in his face, the hyena's pupils dilating slightly again, relaxation re-entering his body. That was probably why it was not so dangerous: it did not last for long. Miguno whined faintly and Jack chuckled.

"Come on, Miguno, let's get that flag, show me where the flag is."

But it was too late to come back and he led Jack straight to where the flag was tucked away and hidden.

"Damn..." Jack whistled, pawing at the bookcase where it had been hidden right at the back. "Yeah, this would have taken us a good while to dig out otherwise, thanks, Miguno!"

A little slack-jawed by definitely happy, Miguno smiled more widely, bobbing his head.

"No problem!"

He didn't notice how his words were slurred, but he did notice when he finally came around and blinked rapidly, as if he was coming up from a deep sleep. When he caught sight of Jack with the red flag clasped tightly in his hand and a wide grin on his muzzle, Miguno groaned, tugging at his bound wrists. He hadn't even realised!

"Damn it... Okay, Jack, you've won. What even was that powder?"

Jack shrugged, tongue lolling out.

"You'll have to find out next time we play!"

On the other side of the arena, Durham leaned back in his chair, unaware of what had been going on with Miguno and Jack, but the coyote did not have to be aware of it, not when he was waiting. Of course, he had not bothered untying Legoshi, the wolf studiously looking away from him. He had to be trying the knots, but the coyote was sure that they would win in no time at all. If the wolf had made any progress there, it wasn't going to serve him well, no, not at all.

His ears perked up, head turning at the sound of footsteps. He didn't have quite as good a sense of smell as Legoshi did, but he could still smell both Miguno and Jack approaching.

"Ah... Finally!"

He stood, waiting eagerly, but was surprised to see just who came. Both of them...but not as he wanted them to be.

Jack grinned widely, his tail wagging, a bound Miguno beside him. Legoshi yelped, clearly resisting the urge to throw his head back in a howl, especially as Jack had the red flag of Miguno and Durham's team - and not the other way around!

"What happened?" Durham growled, ears flat to his skull in horror. "Are you seriously telling me that you didn't get the flag? How the heck did Jack beat you? You've got to be joking!"

"Hey!" Jack barked back, showing a little bit of his bite, which was not usually on show. "I'm stronger than you think and maybe that's just why I won. You underestimate me and you really shouldn't do that. You should have known that by now."

So it was... The winners were to be declared. Legoshi grinned, tilting his head all the way back to stare at Durham.

"Go on then, say it," the wolf prompted Durham. "Say who's won. Who's going to be the slaves for a week..."

Durham groaned.

"You..." He forced the words out through clenched teeth. "You guys are the winners. We will do anything you want, within reason, for one week."

Legoshi howled, celebrating, and Jack joined in with a canine howl of his own, though no one could quite match the full-throated howl of a wolf, not quite like that. Miguno squirmed and demanded to be untied, though Jack was more than happy to do exactly that, as long as he had his victory secured.

Untying Legoshi and Miguno respectively, the losers stepped back to show that they weren't going to try any tricks or try to pull anything over on anyone, even if they were very much unhappy with their loss. It wasn't what they had expected at all, having been the ones to initiate the game in the first place, but they had to be anything but sore losers. There would be winners and losers in every game.

Legoshi and Jack stood shoulder to shoulder, accepting their due as Miguno and Durham stepped forward, folding to the ground on their knees to give a Japanese bow, softly pressing their forehead to the ground just before the feet of both Legoshi and Jack in turn. It was a submissive gesture and one of intimate respect, acknowledging them as their masters, the winners of the bet. But even a bet like that had to be come through on, one way or the other...

Legoshi snapped his fingers, easily slipping into his role. After being tied up for so long, it was good to be upright again!

"You two," he said smoothly. "Fetch chairs. The first thing you will give us is foot massages."

There was enough space around that starting zone for the chairs to be placed, though Durham still grumbled at Miguno as they did as they were asked, a little more exposed than they would have liked as they had to "pay up" their side of the bet, for being the losers.

"Ugh, this is weird..."

As much as Durham complained, however, he still did as he was bid, on his knees before Jack, who had positioned himself such that the coyote was the natural partner for him. The canine yipped happily, his tail wagging through the open, wooden back of the chair, placing his right foot in Durham's hands. Beside the coyote, the hyena took up position with Legoshi, the wolf enjoying the moment as he leaned back in his chair, lifting his left foot for Miguno's attention.

Durham wrinkled his muzzle, trying to focus, though he didn't want to be a sore loser. A foot massage was the first thing he would get the others to do for him for the next bet, he vowed to himself, though he didn't know when that would be. Massaging was easier than tickling, for all he had to do was replicate what felt good on him. He rubbed his fingers up and over the sole, the thicker, fleshier part close to Jack's toes, the dog's feet quite large. Even the fur on the top of them was soft, poking between his golden toes, though the claws there were kept trimmed very short, so they wouldn't get in the way.

It was easier to forget about things and focus on doing a good job as he sank into it, even if the coyote didn't take any personal enjoyment from massaging the dog's feet. He rubbed over the heel in deep, slow circles, considering just how much his feet had hurt after the fights, though he wished he had been the one to go find Jack and not Miguno. Maybe then, they would have won...

The canine groaned and stretched out a little, pressing his foot harder into the coyote's hands.

"Mmm, yeah, that's the spot..."

The coyote didn't know what to say there, simply carrying on, his eyes sliding over to see how Miguno was doing.

The hyena worked away, knowing a little about foot massages from an elective course in his studies, just a little extra credit. It didn't mean that he was excellent at it, however, just trying to do his best, one way or the other. He worked around the toes on Legoshi's feet, the fleshy pads, though was careful of the short claws.

In a way, it was foot worship, though the hyena rolled his eyes at the notion. He was not worshipping anyone and focused on his work, sinking into it a little, for it made sense to him, his fingers sliding smoothly down the centre of the underside. When the wolf flexed his foot a little in his hand, he repeated the motion on the right foot, but, that time, with his thumbs. He used the pressure of his thumbs to work out all the pressure points, the sore points, of Legoshi's foot, emboldened when the wolf groaned.

"Oh... That feels good."

It was not sexual but it was most certainly submissive, like being in a submission hold or even a choke hold, having a place, yet, that time, Miguno did not need to get out of it. There was no need, simply put. He gently slid his fingers between the wolf's toes, trying desperately not to tickle Legoshi, but the push and stroke of his fingers were gentle enough that he did not draw on any ticklish sensations at all.

No... The wolf was free to relish in total relaxation, letting the hyena swap from foot to foot, working him over completely, even rubbing his hands over the wolf's heels in broad, sweeping motions. Miguno was not at all shy about using the entire span of his hands too, not only his fingers, seeming to know even without being told that there was a lot more required to giving a good foot massage than that.

Legoshi appreciated it. It had been a hard fight against Durham, as evenly matched as they were, but it made him feel a little more himself again, even if it could have been considered subservient spoiling in a way. The tickling had taken a lot out of him too, though Legoshi would never have said before that tickling would have made him as tired as it had done. But he supposed that was the way of it as he held his legs up a little more under his own volition, relaxing a little more into it.

At least they were all friends there, so it made everything just a shade more comfortable for him. He didn't usually want to be in a position of power over anyone, but sometimes carnivore instincts flickered up to the forefront, demanding greater attention. They allowed him to relax into how Miguno carefully eased out the tension from his feet, going over the upper side too, as gentle as he was over the bones.

Jack was a little smugger about taking what he wanted from Durham, however, swapping feet whenever he pleased, though the dog did not truly care if the coyote did not work evenly over both feet or not. It was about taking a little more power for him, even if it was lightly and playfully done. Nothing would ever go outside the bounds of their shared agreements, however, which was true for all of them and born from their respect for each other.

"Get all over them," he teased, laughing lightly at Durham's grimace. "Oh, come on, you can't feel that bad about it..."

Durham sighed and gave Jack a small smile.

"Yes, yes, I know... You guys won fair and square, it's not that bad."

And it wasn't, though it would be a funny week for all of them. They'd find a way to make it work for all of them, even if they still did have some studying to do throughout it all.

Durham focused a little more, fitting a more subservient role, a little more openly happy to massage Jack's feet. The dog caught him rubbing both of his feet at once, holding them in his fingers and then massaging with his thumbs, working them deep.

Jack groaned.

"Yeah, I'll tell you if you go too hard..."

Durham was relieved to hear that, for he hadn't actually wanted to hurt anyone through the whole back and forth of fun and games there. It was meant to be entertaining for all of them, though he would have much preferred to be on the winning team. It gave him a greater respect for Jack, in seeing how he had bested Miguno, though he would have to hear how that had been done too, one day.

Thinking carefully, he worked his fingers over the underside, finding the tenderest spots for the dog up on the sole near the toes. It was a difficult spot for anyone to massage for themselves and the dog pushed up onto his toes to run quite a bit, which also put extra pressure on his soles. So it was there that Durham focused most of his attention, all until Jack was soft and loose in his hands, relaxed and leaning back even in the straight-backed chair that he had dragged out to sit in. It rocked back onto two legs, though he wouldn't have to stay there for long. After the photo-taking, after all, Legoshi proved to have something else in mind...

"Okay..." Legoshi said, taking a bit more pleasure from being in charge than could have been anticipated. "So... Next, you two need to lie on the ground next to each other."

Durham shot a look at Miguno, but did as he was asked, even though he was a little confused over what was going on. On his back, he looked up at the wooden roof of the arena, which was all boarded up neatly, strangely enough. It was a well-designed little place, though they still had not explored the full limits of it. Maybe they'd have to come back another time?

Jack grabbed his phone with a grin, passing it to Legoshi.

"This is what you want, isn't it?" He said, as if he knew exactly what it was that the wolf had in mind already. "Go for it!"

Legoshi grinned, tail wagging faintly, his whole posture and demeanour softening.

"So, you wanted to take victory poses and selfies on me?" Legoshi said, directing his question towards Durham. "I think it's time that we have a little payback. Are you going to join in too, Jack?"

The dog cocked his head.

"I didn't think you would go for it, to be honest," the dog said. "What happened with Durham and Miguno that you haven't said about, huh?"

Legoshi grimaced.

"Yeah, I'll tell you later."

Durham and Miguno exchanged a snorting smirk, giggles rising. It was impossible to be annoyed by that, a fair revenge, as Legoshi tried to awkwardly pose on top of him. He didn't know where to stand, first going as if to put his foot on the coyote's face and then deciding against it.

Durham, to his credit, was patient while Legoshi worked it out, though it was a little uncomfortable lying on the ground, which was the only problem that he was thinking about. Legoshi finally settled on a position with his foot splayed out across the coyote's chest at an angle, his toes a little stretched, but he was trying to keep his claws up from the coyote's fur.

It was not something that he could stop himself from doing and Legoshi gave up eventually, relaxing his foot on top of Durham's chest. Jack set up the phone on the chair, pointing at both Durham and Miguno, a timer set to go off and take a photo every ten seconds. It would give them enough time to pose and go from one position to the next, seeing just what fun they could have like that.

"Go on, Legoshi," Jack goaded him a little, posing with his foot across Miguno's stomach, seeing the fun in it. "What's the issue?"

The wolf laughed and rubbed the back of his neck, a little sheepish.

"I don't know," he said, even as the phone camera took the pictures. "It feels uncomfortable."

"The view isn't that pretty from down here either," Durham shot back at him, annoyance prickling at the edge of his teasing tone. "Get on with it, guys..."

He didn't exactly want to be down there under Legoshi, but, well, if he was going to do it, it may as well be over with swiftly.

Legoshi did as they asked, taking the post on Durham's chest with his foot pressing down more firmly. It was easier to get his cheeky payback on the coyote if he thought about the pose and matching the coyote's flexes. He put his arms out on either side of his head, stretching out and flexing as if he was trying to show off his muscles, though he was still rather a bit on the leaner side.

Jack struck a pose, though he did not push down too hard with his foot across Miguno's eyes. Because the hyena would not turn his face to the side, it was difficult for him to pose with his foot there, though the hyena was laughing even as he denied him.

"I didn't say that the losers had to do everything!" Miguno protested, though Jack would have stopped if the hyena was truly uncomfortable with everything. "Do another pose!"

Jack obliged and moved down to the hyena's chest, standing there with one foot proudly up, pleased, at the very least, with his conquest. It was something that he had not done for a while, victory poses after winning a bout, and he was pleased that his skills, even though he had been more focused on his studies of late, had not suffered in the interim.

He grinned and struck a cheeky pose with a wink, his tongue lolling out and two fingers in the air with his palm pointing towards the camera as the flash went off. Swapping to the hyena's stomach, he wriggled his foot back and forth on Miguno's slightly soft belly. It squidged very faintly under his foot, but there was a musculature there too, showing the hyena's barely hidden fitness and physique.

He took his time, going through the poses at the same pace as Legoshi. They had both done a pose on the chest and, at that point, the wolf followed him to pose on Durham's stomach too, seeming to grow a little in confidence there. Even though he had been the one that had had the idea, he still needed something of a lead and guide to follow, as if it was something that they were doing for their studies.

But it was fun, Legoshi had to admit too, staring boldly at the camera as if he was a wild wolf, though he ended up, in the photos that they checked over later, looking more far away and distant than ever. It was not his fault that that was simply the expression that ended up on his face more often than not, but he didn't let it concern him, not too much. The wolf put his hands back behind his head for another photo with the pose on the coyote's stomach, flexing his triceps, his elbows pointing out from either side of his head at a sharp angle.

He looked to Jack, copying the dog as they changed to the final pose and position, moving up to the face. Even though Miguno had made a playful fuss about it the first time around, Legoshi was curious about how the hyena gave in to the victory posing, even though he had not had a go when Durham had taken advantage of things and posed with him.

He stepped carefully onto the coyote's face, though Durham found it funnier at that moment than anything else. It was silly, but the wolf loomed above him, showing his teeth to the camera in a snarl, looking altogether so much more fearsome than he was in real life. The wolf may have been powerful, but he did know how to show off his broad chest too, putting his hands behind his back so that he could shove his shoulder blades back too and make his chest larger and more prominent.

Still, Durham grumbled through his laugh as he let Legoshi pose on his face, reminding himself that he was meant to be the loser of the moment. They would have a week of that, though he hoped that Legoshi in particular was not going to take advantage of him too much. If he could take anything from what had been said too far, he expected that they would be getting lots of foot massages, probably more victory poses like that, more menial tasks and stuff that the wolf and the dog wouldn't want to do - and the homework too. Ugh. That, by far, was the worst of anything, but that was just the way that Durham saw it.

Jack finished his poses with his foot carefully covering the hyena's muzzle and folding his toes over Miguno's nose. A few camera clicks went off while he was getting into position, but he struck a pose with his hand on his hip, the other raised triumphantly, as if he was toasting a crowd. He wouldn't have minded an audience to see him victorious that time, but that was, sadly, not something that Jack could call to him at that time.

He imagined it though, exactly in how they would flock to the auditorium of a real arena, huge and cheering, hands all thrown in the air, all for him. He struck his final pose with both hands thrown high in victory, his lips parted, eyes shining at the imagined tribute.

But there was no crowd there and he would have to engage in a different kind of game entirely if he was to get that kind of audience to his victories. That day, however, might well have given him even more confidence.

Legoshi kept his foot carefully placed on the coyote's muzzle as he shook his head at Jack, his toes over the top side of Durham's muzzle, not close to his nose. He did brush the coyote's eyelids, however, which fluttered in response to the touch and, finally, forced him to conclude his pose with a look towards the camera which the wolf hoped spot of dominance, turning halfway so that he was side on to the camera, pushing his hip out towards it. It gave a good view of his muscles as he tensed, contracting everything that he could, even his abdominals, to demonstrate himself as fully as he could. If he was going to have pictures like that, he would make damn sure that they were good ones.

"Legoshi!" Jack grinned, gesturing to him. "We've got to swap!"

Miguno groaned.

"Oh, come on, guys..."

Yet it was easier that second time around, Durham glancing up at Jack as the dog posed with his back to the camera phone, tail wagging lightly and blurring the picture, his arm raised and flexed showing off his muscles. He cast a cocky look back over his shoulder at the camera and kept his foot up on Durham's chest, that time posed with just the front part of his sole pressing down, heel raised. It was different - and different was interesting, at the very least.

Following him in time, though he didn't feel all that bad towards either Miguno or Durham, Legoshi posed with his foot on Miguno's chest. He stretched his arms out on either side of his head, pointing away from his body, though it was more as if he was in the middle motion of a star jump. His foot pressed down and he gave a sigh of relief when the click of the camera went off, allowing him to copy Jack and swap to Miguno's stomach.

That time, both the dog and the wolf did the same pose, stepping up and onto their stomachs to press down as if they were actually taking a step up onto them. It came with a more dominating air than the steps that had come before, both flexing their arms down before them, fists clenched, pointing in towards each other. It was a wild pose, a more dominating one, as if they were going to lumber over the two losers, even though it was all just for show and nothing to worry about.

Miguno grunted, however, when Legoshi finally posed with his foot on his face, not asking first but making him turn his cheek to the other side, so that the left side of his face was facing up. His muzzle wrinkled as Legoshi's soft foot pushed over it, squashing his face a little.

"Unff, be careful..."

"Oh, sorry!"

The hyena didn't mean to grumble, knowing that it was his loss and that it, surely, was almost over. It was not something entirely that he had to concern himself with, blinking up at the wolf as he moved over him, showing off with a pointing pose, tipping forward. One arm was pulled back with his elbow sticking out, as if he was about to let fly an arrow from a bow, but his other arm was pointed out straight before him and upwards, letting him look high.

Miguno, however, didn't linger in that submission for long. Durham grouched and grumbled, though there was not as much laughter on his lips as before. The coyote wriggled and squirmed, his tail pinned and tucked down tight to his backside, not wanting to linger. To be fair, he wasn't all that uncomfortable, but he was getting a little on the hungry side, his stomach grumbling and rumbling where it wasn't wanted at all.

The poses finished with them posing on the faces of the others, the victors reaping the spoils while the losers lay there, waiting for their time to come. However, Legoshi and Jack were benevolent winners and, rather than leaving them, helped them right back up to their feet with smiles on their faces. Durham muttered a curse and shook his head, a smile on his lips.

"You guys... We're going to get you next time, right, Miguno?"

The hyena laughed, a cackling one, and chimed in, ears perking up just a little bit more with the rounded tips.

"Yeah! But we'll find another game, maybe, not capture the flag."

Together, they would always find a way to make light of their time and to have fun, for their lives, even when still in school, could not be all about studying.

"You're paying for dinner though!" Legoshi joked, his arms slung around his friends, none of them caring at all about their state of undress, for it was not a big deal amongst them. "I'm thinking... The American diner!"

Durham groaned and protested that, but he didn't really have much of a say in the matter, not then.

It was okay though: for it was only going to be a week of "slavery", playfully taken, between them, even if the winners were most certainly going to make the most of it.

Even if they didn't have all the ideas yet, they would make sure that it was not squandered. And yet to think that all that came from a game of capture the flag...

Times between them, however, were far from boring!