Sarahi's Heartbreak

"Are you sure you want to walk?" Mrs. Swordbright asked Oro as they rolled into her drive, "I don't mind driving you from here." In retrospect, she probably should have swung by his house first, but the Swordbright house was actually along the road back from the Runepaw's.

"It's not even dark out yet," the Rabbit in the passenger seat pointed out, eyes closed and feet propped up on the dash from where he'd tried to take a nap on the way back. "It's fine."

Sarahi, stretched out over the whole of the back seat, was glad he was creating one more opportunity for her...though she was quite sure that was not by design. She just had something important to tell him. She had been going over it in her head for the entire trip back, and couldn't convince herself of even one reason not to go ahead and say it. Delays could only lead to misunderstandings, or missed opportunities. But it definitely wasn't something she wanted her mother around to hear...

"Alright, well be safe," the older Lioness waved to Oro as he pulled his things out of the car and closed the door, then added to Sarahi, "Let's go, sweetie."

"Be right there, Mom," Sarahi assured her, though she turned to round the back of the car and quickly intercept the Rabbit, "I just want to walk him to the end of the drive."

Her mother quirked an amused brow with a knowing smile, and waved her on to do what she liked. "Don't be long. It might not look it, but it's getting late."

Oro didn't move from the spot where he was standing beside the back tires, until Mrs. Swordbright was up the porch stairs and through the front door. "The fuck's got into you?" he asked as soon as it closed, knowing full well this was not her usual behavior, and that probably meant she had something to say. Sarahi silently commended him for being as sharp as ever...though he could do with not being as vulgar as ever.

"I just wanted to say 'thank you' for...well, a lot of things you said today," she told him sincerely as they started slowly down the drive, "I'll try to take them to heart."

The Rabbit arched a dubious brow, never one to think highly of his own words or capacity for philosophy. "Like what?" he demanded, as though suspicious she was just trying to sweet-talk him.

"Like...knowing what I am, and what I want," Sarahi nodded, "And not pretending my body isn't something that it is." She looked back at the skirt draped across her back, smoothing it a little between the shoulders. "Some things I can't ignore, but some I've been trying to. Heh...also for teaching me there's no such thing as a bad pair," she winked, hoping he'd remember the reference. Judging by the way he rolled his eyes, he did.

She trotted a little ahead of him, blocking his way and forcing him to stop just as he got onto the sidewalk. Leaning in close to his cheek, she whispered the next part softly, confident that he could hear and no one else could. "Especially...thank you for keeping yourself. You don't have to wait too long, if you don't want to. Whenever you're ready...just come and get it. I already am," she promised, a fierce heat growing in her cheeks.

Sarahi couldn't quite look him in the eyes immediately after that, and ended up staring down at his feet while she waited for the color in her cheeks to subside a bit. When she finally did look up to see if he was overcoming his shock--she found pity in them for the first time since she'd known him. His face was set stoically, with just a little disappointment, but somehow assuring it was not with her. His eyes, though...her heart sank, and she could feel it breaking even before he opened his mouth. "Like I said: no one gets me until I get the girl I want."

It wasn't her. He was kind enough--and kindness was a dangerous rarity with him--not to say that part out loud. It was unnecessary. Sarahi could barely see him through the distortion of the tears welling up in her eyes...big, full tears like no amount of spanking could ever have drawn. Her head was spinning. She felt her balance shifting. She wondered if she was falling, but realized she was getting higher, not lower.

With a loud pop, her right paw rolled his head (and the rest of his body along with it) right over his shoulder, cartwheeling and landing him on the sidewalk. Oro blinked his rolling eyes and managed to focus them just in time to see her in full retreat through the door of her house, sobbing like a newborn baby. He was slow in sitting up, checking the damages before he attempted to find his feet. "Well...ffuuuck," he hissed, more at the situation that had suddenly been created than the trio of fresh cuts warming the side of his face with his own blood. He'd have matching scars on both sides now...

He gave her a full day before going back (largely on advice from Mrs. Hope and Nayeli). She didn't answer the door when he rang, and her mother only gave him a brief, disappointed look before she closed the door again. She refused to be seen or even heard by him for the rest of the week...a tricky thing to do with him standing by the tree in the yard for over an hour, with the whole house well within range of his long ears. She even missed the first day of class, after spring break ended.

On the second day, she was late to lunch. He was already sitting in his usual spot, sans any kind of food and just idly listening to Nayeli telling him something when she slipped through the doors. Knowing better than to think he wouldn't notice her, Sarahi held up a hand to stop him as he started to stand, and pointed for him to sit back down. Seeing who had caught his attention, Nayeli likewise grabbed his wrist and made him take his seat back. Then Sarahi hurried through the food line, grabbing little more than a drink and a dessert.

Her tray hit the table like she intended to break one or the other. "Who is it?" Sarahi demanded. "...Hello, Nayeli," she added as an afterthought, though the other Lioness was wise enough not to make more than a little wave in reply.

Oro gave her a long, appraising look. With her arms crossed sternly over her chest and her face set in a determined frown...if she'd only had longer ears and lighter fur, he might have been looking in a mirror. "First, are you--?" he started, but she slapped the table with the flat of her hand so hard it shook trays on the other end, causing some other students to jump in their seats.

"No. I am not. Not yet. But I've cried all the tears my body can crank out, and a few that were borrowed from Mom besides. I've slept, I've learned to eat again, and my heart's still pushing blood through my veins despite being broken. So now I just want to know who beat me. Give. Me. The. Name," the Sha'khari demanded, slapping the table (a little less fiercely this time) with each syllable for emphasis.

A distance had opened between them. She wasn't surprised, but it hurt to see it. He was looking at her much like he had back when they first met, when she was someone he knew only by reputation, and did not pity so much as hated those who tormented her. His guard was up, and his honesty would come with a cutting edge. Sarahi had told herself to be prepared for that, after refusing to see him for nearly a week...but she hadn't quite succeeded, apparently.

"...I will," he promised, provoking her hope just a little. He didn't even growl it. "But I'm not talking about it here. You're too loud, and there are too many ears."

"The fuck you won't," she snapped at him, using his own vocabulary. Her eyes rounded on Nayeli then. "Do you know?"

His foster-sister looked from her to him and back. "...No," she stated clearly, "And I don't know why he's unwilling to tell it...so I don't know that it would be my place to tell you even if I did. I'm sorry." To Oro, she warned, "You are treading in shark-infested waters, and your best friend is not the shark. She's your fellow castaway. Don't lose sight of her."

"Fuck off," they both told her in unison, having already returned to giving each other hard looks.

"...Fine," Sarahi huffed when it became clear he wasn't going to budge, and she couldn't come up with anything else that might provoke an answer from him...nothing she'd actually be willing to commit to, anyway. Despite her harsh words, her fears ran very close to Nayeli's. She had never had a friend before him. And while she might have others now, even if she lost him...he was still arguably her best. The Sha'khari did not want to lose him...even if her broken heart wanted to cut him with its edges. "Tell me when you walk me home from school, then."

She prayed so hard, so fervently, that he was still on board for that. For two wonderful years he had been her unofficial guardian on the way off campus. She hadn't had a single problem since the day he'd first rescued her. But she didn't need him anymore. They both knew it. That had been part of what made the days following that realization so wonderful. She didn't need him...but he spent the time with her anyway. Sarahi did not want that to end.

"...I will," he promised again. Flat, even tone, flat, apathetic look. He wasn't happy about it, but he meant it. And it would probably come at a price he wasn't telling her yet. She could live with that.

"Good," she grunted back at him, popping open her bottle of juice and gulping it like she hadn't quenched a thirst in days. "Ahem...I'm sorry I swore at you," she said to Nayeli then, "You're not the one I'm mad at."

The Lioness nodded, and smiled reassuringly. "If a 'fuck you' or two was enough to get under my skin, I'd have been flayed alive the day this guy moved in," she winked, earning a reluctant chuckle from Sarahi.

Yes...she had more than one friend now. More than one good one, too. She was mad...but they were all precious to her.

The day dragged on like time had weights attached to it. She didn't care about her classes. She barely had the focus to write down what her assignments were for the night...and highly doubted she'd have the heart to do them. When the last bell rang, it was like the bell of a cathedral announcing, "The king is dead! Long live the king!" She didn't know whether to weep or cheer.

Oro was waiting on the far side of the outer walk, with his hood pulled up over his ears like he did when he was pissed off, or sulking. Sarahi tried to act like she didn't care which it was, as she trotted across the hot pavement toward him. He turned a little before she got to him...

It clicked. That first step, matched to hers, followed by strides exactly on beat with her back left leg...they'd been doing this for a couple of years now. They still were. She took comfort in it, silently praising each timed strut, until they were around the bend that usually marked where he was comfortable saying important things. She almost stopped being mad.

Sarahi let loose a long, hard exhale. "Gods forgotten, Oro," she muttered, "I don't really care about the name. I just want to know--"

"Nayeli," he interrupted with a grunt. Sarahi stopped in her tracks...and could not bring herself to move again. He took a few more paces before he stopped as well, and turned to face her, pulling the hood back from his face so she could see the sincerity in his eyes. "Nayeli, and only Nayeli, beats you. I would burn the world for you, and you for Nayeli...except she would burn me for a heartless bastard if I did. She'd be right, too."

Sarahi sat down on the sidewalk. She didn't have much choice. It was either that, or let her back half fall over on its side and drag the front with it. "Your...your..." His frown told her to choose how she described that relationship carefully, and for the first time in two years she understood why. He had always distanced himself from his foster family like that. She was his 'house-mate'. Her mother was 'Mrs. Hope'. At night, he returned to 'the Hope house'. He was self-conscious when she was around, and took pains to be independent, even if that caused more trouble...especially if he thought it would only cause trouble for him.

The Sha'khari didn't know Nayeli as well as he did...or maybe she did, after a year and a half. It was hard to guess how much time he actually spent with his foster-sister, in light of the amount of time he divided between her house and whatever he did after he left (which Nayeli assured her was rarely to come straight home). But still, Sarahi knew the Lioness well enough to consider her a friend, and a good one. Her smile had never once seemed insincere. She had never made the Sha'khari feel self-conscious about her form (that one time was Oro's fault entirely). She had made time to spend with Sarahi quite apart from Oro, and Sarahi looked forward to more afternoons with her.

"Why," she asked softly through gnashed teeth and rising tears, "Why couldn't it be someone I can hate? At least make it someone I could silently wish to die, just in my head, and hope in vain that you'd turn to me when she was gone. Not this."

"Because love is a twisted bitch, who delights in wrecking her children," the Rabbit answered with his customary cynicism. Sarahi hated that she felt a sincere urge to nod in agreement, and desperately wanted to call him a liar...but at just that moment, her heart was on his side.

"...Well," she said hesitantly, forcing her legs to straighten up after a brief sniffle, "I guess...a lot of things make more sense now. Like why...but she doesn't know?" Sarahi shook her head, "She said she doesn't know who you like. Haven't you told her?"

"Fuck no," he answered flatly, "Not outright. I'm a fucking trouble-maker, mooching off her and her mom with nothing to offer and no future anyone can see yet. In the fucking face of all that, she's the type who'd still hold me, out of pity alone. Fuck that. I'll tell her when I've made something of myself," he insisted, turning his back and starting toward her house again as she caught up with him, "And don't you dare ask 'but what if she finds someone else first'? You'd better fucking pray for that guy, and pick out a nice plot for him while you're at it." The Rabbit gnashed his teeth, wincing just a little as something in his own chest seemed to hurt. "I'm...a little surprised, though. I thought for sure she'd noticed. I'm not the subtle type. But I'd be twice as surprised if she lied about it, especially to you, so apparently she hasn't."

"Oh gods forgotten, Oro," Sarahi moaned, wiping her sleeve across her eyes even though she was trying to just talk normally, "You can't ask me to keep that a secret. She's going to ask if we made up, sooner or later, and how am I supposed to look her in the eye then? You...shit, I can't believe I'm saying this...you have to tell her."

"I'm not saying a fucking thing yet," he hissed, "And I'm not asking you to keep a fucking thing." Turning to stand in her way, he forced her to stop and look at him. "You've asked me once before if we're friends, and if we could share our secrets. We've got several between us now. The kind that would get one or both of us in deep shit if they came out. Those aren't the kinds of secrets that friends share." Taking a deep breath, he sighed some of the habitual aggression out of his voice, and continued in a softer tone, "This one is mine. Just mine. If it spills, no harm done...legally, anyway. I'm a little scared of what other consequences might follow, but those are mine too. I'm placing them in your hands, and trusting you to handle them right. _Now..._are we friends?"

She looked him hard in the eyes. He'd closed the distance. His honesty still came with a price, but he was looking at her again like he knew her and trusted her to do the right thing, even if he wasn't sure what it would be. Sarahi straightened her back, met his eyes as firmly as she could, and answered, "...Liar. The consequences are mine, too, and you know it. I'm already sharing them with you. They're Nayeli's, too. She doesn't even know she's suffering them yet, or why. We are all in this together. That...is how friends are. Stop trying to take it all for yourself."

He didn't flinch. Oro never backed down. But the sigh he pushed through his nose carried relief and reassurance. "I'm a selfish bastard and you know it. What did you expect?"

Sarahi reached up and laid a hand against his cheek, giving him a light, half-hearted slap before stepping around him to continue the walk home. "I don't know. You have always been just who you are...but that still confuses me, sometimes," she admitted. "I won't tell Nayeli right away. But if it comes up, I won't lie to her...and you know it's going to come up eventually. Months from now, if you're lucky and I'm not, but probably sooner. You should tell her first. I don't know what you're waiting for."

"Something honest I can do for a living, and stick with," he surprised her with a clear answer. No vague, philosophical, wishy-washiness for this Rabbit. "A worthwhile future to offer her. I don't think I'm the vain type, but I have my own kind of pride. When I figure out what the hell I'm doing, I'll tell her. Then she won't have to hold me out of pity."

Sarahi sighed a shuddering breath, and nodded. "You are proud. And stubborn. But at least that's pretty concrete." They walked in silence until they reached her street. It wasn't a mentoring day, so Oro didn't need to go any further, and they both seemed to recognize the other wanted today apart from each other, too. Not forever...just today. That was enough, and she, at least, took comfort in it. "I wish I could say I'll be cheering for you," she told him before she left, "But I'm not. I'll only try to hold out until you make the first move, so you had better be job-hunting, you selfish bastard," she managed to chuckle.

Oro nodded, and they went their separate ways.

---

They were back, more or less, to their usual selves by the time they all sat down to lunch the next day. Nayeli noticed Sarahi in particular seemed to be feeling better, though they were both steering well clear of yesterday's discussion. Much as she'd like to know what passed between them on the way to Sarahi's house yesterday, it was clear that they had made up for the moment, and she wouldn't whisper so much as a curious word for fear of breaking the mood again. Life became comfortable again, and got mostly back to normal. It continued that way for the rest of the spring semester, and summer break approached fast.

Nayeli and Sarahi were jogging along one of the dirt paths winding around Witch-Mountain, as they'd made a habit of doing on Saturday mornings. It had been a relief to Sarahi's father when they proposed it, as it gave his daughter something to do well away from Oro during their Saturday mentoring sessions. She had forgiven him for breaking her heart--maybe--but Mr. Swordbright was still hot under the collar about it three months on, and frowned noticeably every time he saw them in the same room together.

"Got any...big plans...for the summer?" the Lioness asked between breaths, still working toward her second wind as they kicked up the dust under their heels.

"Not especially," Sarahi answered, her four paws having hardly gotten warmed up yet. She tried not to get much ahead until the end of the jog, when Nayeli always insisted they finish all-out, supposedly so she could tell how much she was holding Sarahi back. Sarahi thought her friend just liked to let her show off at the end for the sake of her self-esteem...and appreciated it. "Mom and Dad might try to send me to a summer camp, but I think I'd rather stay home this year."

"Oh yeah?" Nayeli huffed, "You usually...go to one?"

The Sha'khari shook her head, "Not always. Mom likes having the house to herself again, though," she winked. "This year, I think I'd rather hang out and go swimming or something, though. We could all go over to the Runepaws' place. They have a big pool," she smiled, trying hard not to imagine how disappointed the twins would be when Nayeli joined them. There was absolutely no way they were going to have the kind of liberty that had taken advantage of last time with her along...but honestly, Sarahi was fine with that. She'd find some other time and excuse for her and Oro to get together with them.

"Ha!" the Lioness half gasped and half laughed, "After last time? I'm glad you...two made up...so well," she smiled, remembering that it was after returning from a pool party that they had hit a hard spot in their relationship.

Sarahi felt a knife twist in her gut. She tried to tell herself it was just a cramp developing from the jog. Surprisingly, Nayeli began to slow down with a hand on her side, as if suffering the same problem. "Are you okay?" the Sha'khari asked, slowing to a trot and looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah! Yeah," the Lioness huffed, moving to the side of the trail to stretch out her side, "That uphill...is killing me," she chuckled, "Shoulda...warmed up more...before this one." She spent a couple of minutes stretching out the cramp and getting her breath back. Sarahi spent them trying to suppress a cold spot growing in her stomach, threatening to reach her lungs in the next few minutes. Eventually they resumed their jog, now on a much gentler slope. "So...the Runepaws," Nayeli picked up more-or-less where they'd left off, "You sure I won't...be a bother? I don't think I've...even met them..."

Sarahi shook her head again. "No, it'll be fine," she insisted half-heartedly, though the more she thought about it... "...I'm sure it'll be fine."

Nayeli gave her a quizzical look, having caught the uncertainty of that last one. This time is was Sarahi who slowed her pace until she was barely walking, looking around as if to make sure there were no other witnesses to whatever was going on inside her head. "Crap," she hissed after a moment, "I am not over this."

"Over...?" the Lioness looked genuinely concerned now, and she walked over to take Sarahi's hand, "Sarahi, did something happen at the Runepaws' house?"

"Argh! No! No, don't even go there!" the Sha'khari warned fiercely, surprising her friend. "Nothing happened at the house," she...lied. That was a pretty bald-faced lie, but not relevant to what was really bothering her. "I'm...just...about to tell a secret, and I'm afraid of the fall-out, but it's been bothering me ever since that day," she shook her head, "We didn't make up well. Or at all. We...came to terms, I guess?"

Now Nayeli looked both concerned and possibly a little angry, though Sarahi was pretty sure it wasn't with her. "What did he make you agree to?" the Lioness asked bluntly, clearly suspecting Oro of some kind of foul play. That it was against his best friend...their best friend...was something she couldn't just let slide.

Once again, Sarahi shook her head. "Nothing. He didn't demand anything. I just promised to wait as long as I could stand, and I want to stand it a little longer...but I don't think I can," she confessed, meeting Nayeli's eyes at last. "It's you. The girl he wants is you. He loves you. Not me."

Nayeli tilted her head, and her brow slowly furrowed, looking more hurt than surprised. "He...told you that?"

It was Sarahi who was surprised. "...You knew," she accused quietly, "You lied? You knew?!"

The Lioness shook her head quickly, gently taking her friend's shoulders, "I did not. I still don't. I just--"

Sarahi seized her shoulders right back, in a much stronger grip, and slowly pushed her over to the side of the trail and into the underbrush, sitting her down on the first seat-sized rock she could find. Then the Sha'khari turned around and planted her tail in the leaves beside it, staring angrily at the trees in front of them with her fists clenched in her lap. She took five long, deep breaths. "Tell me what you did know," she insisted in an even tone at last, "Then I will tell you what I know. Then...then we can be friends again." It was hard to say if that was a demand or a plea, but Nayeli nodded sympathetically and pulled her knees up to her chin to fit entirely on top of the rock.

"I did not lie," the Lioness insisted after a thoughtful moment, hoping the Sha'khari would cool down while she talked, "I did not know. I did suspect...but I always cautioned myself that might be wishful thinking, so I was careful not to let myself believe it. He has never said anything--"

"And he won't anytime soon, the tail-hole!" Sarahi growled with a sniffle, "Sorry. Go on."

Nayeli gave her another worried look, but rested her chin on her knees and resumed. "He keeps to himself a lot, you know. He rarely comes home before he absolutely has to...just in time to take a shower and sleep, then get out in time for school the next day, even if he doesn't go. And I know how much trouble he gets up to at school, and his tongue could wither houseplants. But when he is at home, he's always polite to Mom, and considerate of me. He takes out the trash without being asked. He cleans the toilet...while giving it an inferiority complex with his language, mind, but quietly. He asks if I need anything, and brings it to me if I name it, and insists he does not need anything even when we know he does. I get kind of aggravated when he comes home with a 'gift' from a classmate," she added as an aside, "In short...he _behaves_like he cares."

Sarahi sighed deeply, blowing out her anger and hurt as best she could. "Yeah, that's how he works alright."

Her friend nodded. "I asked him once if he liked me. He didn't answer. He looked...offended? I guess he thought it was obvious, but I was still never quite sure. It wasn't impossible the idea disgusted him. I've been waiting for him to come out and say, one way or the other, so I know whether to trust what I think or not."

"You're going to be waiting until Hell freezes over, then," Sarahi warned her sadly. Wiping her eyes on the hem of her jogging skirt, she finally looked at Nayeli again. "I'm sorry. I should know how he is. I let myself trust what I thought...and look where that landed me," she huffed, trying not to burst into fresh tears. "Mph...you said it might be wishful thinking. Did you want him to love you?"

Nayeli nodded slowly, a sympathetic look in her eyes for the other girl who had dearly wanted him to love her. "I have for a long while now. But I haven't told him, either. I keep waiting for him to make that first move."

"Why?" the Sha'khari asked more sharply than she intended.

"...I don't know," Nayeli admitted, chewing her lip thoughtfully, "I guess I'm a little scared of being rejected. I've nev--oh, this is going to sound horribly conceited of me," she admitted, covering her eyes for a moment, "Please don't take it as bragging. I don't think I've ever been turned away before. I make friends easily, and generally keep them (Tina and Jane being very noteworthy exceptions). I'm popular in my classes, and praised by the track team. I'm not always the best, but I'm better than average at most of what I do...so the thought of being found wanting probably scares me. Ah...that's...probably pretty vain of me, especially speaking to you, so I'm sorry."

Sarahi squeezed her skirt in her hands, looking down at her own paws. "...I don't think so," she shook her head, "I don't think you're vain. I think you're humble. You realized that just because a boy is nice to you doesn't necessarily mean he loves you. I put myself on the hook for that, and got yanked pretty hard."

"I'm sorry," the Lioness said again, turning on her seat to wrap the Sha'khari in a soft hug. Sarahi patted her arms reassuringly, and helped her stay balanced as she sat back up. "I'm a little upset, though, that he confessed to you before he told me, especially given...the situation at the time," she winced as she said it.

"Yeah," Sarahi agreed, "I still want to rake my claws over him for that. But I think I've given him enough scars already, and not where he can hide them, either."

"Hmhm, he's proud of those, you know," Nayeli tried to reassure her, "He did that thing you hear about, where you rub ashes in the wound so the scars stand out more. Mom about had a conniption when she realized he'd not only opened his stitches, but burned one of his textbooks to make the ashes."

"Oh, that jerk," the Sha'khari shook her head with her face in her hands while Nayeli patted her back. After a moment she took another deep breath, relieved that her own anger had been completely snuffed at last and twice as relieved to no longer be carrying any deep secrets. Now she just hoped Oro would understand...and that she had handled it well. "How did you stand it all these months?" she asked sincerely then, "When he was walking me home every day and coming to my house half the afternoons? Didn't that...well, was it that obvious to everyone else I was being led on? We've been friends for over a year now, and you've never seemed the least bit jealous."

"Oh I am," Nayeli assured her, despite the smile on her face, "I don't have what it takes to pal around with him like you do, much as I might wish. But I think that I love him...not that I own him. And from what I can tell, love is...kiiiinnd ofabitch," she said quickly, looking a little embarrassed by her own language, "She doesn't really care if the feeling's one-sided, so long as each person feels it at one point or another, come heaven or heartbreak."

That got Sarahi to giggle. "He said something like that, too," she admitted.

"Yeah, that sounds like him," Nayeli chuckled, turning to gaze off between the trees with her chin on her knees again. "...Putting him aside for the moment," she continued softly a moment later, "Do we have to be rivals now, or can we still be friends? Because I meant what I said when we met, about the kind of friend you are, and the kind of friends I want. I've spent all these months thinking that even if...even if I 'lost' to you...at least it was to someone good. Someone better for him than me, even. And I'd really, really like to be friends with her."

Sarahi blinked at her...then nearly knocked her off the rock as the Sha'khari lunged forward to grab her in a tight hug. "Yes, please!!" the girl cried with fresh tears, this time of relief instead of grief, "I was so scared this might...I want my friend!"

They hugged tight for several minutes, reassuring themselves with the physical contact while quiet tears rolled down both of their cheeks. "Thank you," Nayeli whispered before they released each other at last, wiping their faces and clearing their noses. A few minutes later found them back on the trail, strolling rather than jogging this time, but back in good moods. "So," Nayeli cleared the lingering emotion from her throat, "About that swimming pool..."

Oro was thoroughly done with his mentoring for the day by the time the girls got back from their jog, but was still lingering around Sarahi's house, painting the porch railing. Sarahi and Nayeli took turns getting showered off and changed, then Mrs. Swordbright brought out a picnic lunch for the three of them to share on the lawn, under the shade of the one and only tree that grew out front...which Oro cursed pretty regularly, as the gnarled roots made mowing and weed-eating difficult around the base of it. "Ugh," the Rabbit huffed, laying on his back as he let gravity feed a sandwich into his mouth, despite talking around it, "I can't tell if I'm in training to be a contractor or a corporate yes-man. Is your dad's head ever not at work?"

"I keep telling you he's trying to make openings for you," Sarahi sighed, plucking the sandwich from his mouth and refusing to give it back until he engaged his hands, "If you'd show an interest in something, even once, he'd zero in on that and help you understand it better. Maybe look for ways to get you into the field. You just never respond."

"Mm, your dad sounds nice," Nayeli hummed, also laying on her back, just soaking up the sun, "Thank him for taking care of Oro for me, okay?"

"Well he'd better find an opening I want to dive through pretty quick, then," Oro growled, finally taking his sandwich back...and shoving it almost whole into his mouth, where she couldn't snatch it again, "Ah'm dawn ta to ow-ers."

Both girls pinched the bridge of their nose, shaking their heads at him. "Come again, Mr. Snake?" Sarahi asked, teasing him about the need to unhinge his jaw and extend his windpipe when he ate.

"I said Monday and Wednesday," he paraphrased after swallowing, "Then I'm done. All hours completed. I won't have to put up with his B-S anymore."

Sarahi looked downright hurt by that, and refused to let him reach another sandwich. "Just because the mandatory hours are done doesn't mean you have to stop coming over. He'll keep working with you if you do. Kindness doesn't come from a court-order."

"Yeah, yeah," the Rabbit huffed, putting his reaching hand back under his head and giving up for the moment, "Does he know any dog trainers?"

That earned a curious look from both girls. "I...don't know how Mom feels about having a dog," Nayeli cautioned, though she might be okay with it. It was less the owning of a dog and more the reason he might want one that had her suspicious.

"Nah, I'm just scheming," he assured her in the least reassuring way possible.

With a roll of her eyes, Sarahi also rolled onto her back beside the pair, careful to drag her skirt over her as she went to avoid exposing herself to the entire street. A puffy cloud kept the sun from being too warm on their faces, and time suddenly seemed to get lazy and stick in place for a few minutes. "Hey, Oro," Sarahi said gently, as if to check and see if he was still awake. A curious grunt told her he was. "About that girl you like," she eased into it, waiting to see if just mentioning it would set him off...or Nayeli, for that matter. Both of them seemed to stay relaxed and contented in their respective spots on the blanket, though, so she continued, "I kind of think I know what you like about me...and I am infinitely pleased it has absolutely nothing to do with this, for better or worse," she gestured down the whole of her long body, "But I'm curious: what attracted you to her? She's gotta be pretty something to show me up like that."

Her heart was fluttering in her chest as she waited for his answer, and half suspected he'd tell her to "fuck off", as he seemed to enjoy. Nayeli had said she still wanted to wait for Oro to make his move without letting on that the secret was out, out of respect for his pride. Sarahi was walking a dangerous line, probably, and still couldn't honestly say she wanted to encourage them to take the next step...but she did want to know his reasons, and suspected it might be good for Nayeli. And Oro always seemed to have reasons.

He was a long time in answering. She was about to tell him it as okay not to answer, just to stop the question from hanging like it was, when he finally spoke up. "You think you know what I like about you, huh? Well then, for my house-mate's sake here, I'll clarify for you, because you have to understand that first for the rest to make sense." Two sets of Feline ears subtly shifted toward him, silent and attentive, hanging on every word despite their owners appearing to be taking naps. "I like that you don't back down. When I first saw you getting picked on, I thought you were a coward, and I only stepped in to crush the cowards picking on a smaller coward. But I was wrong. You just didn't know where to draw the line with your claws, and worried about crossing it. Because you're kind. Since that day, I have...," he held up his fingers to count off his sins as he named them, "Taken advantage of your kindness, humiliated you, corrupted you, bruised you, broken your heart, and generally been an all-around dick to you."

"Oro!" Nayeli huffed, "Language! Her parents are around, you know?"

"Fuck 'em," he scoffed, continuing his explanation, "After all that, you're still kind, proud, sensitive to others, and generally a girl her parents can be proud of. Nothing breaks you. That, I like, even if I keep testing it for weakness." Eyes closed and laying arrayed as they were, he could not possibly see her blush...but it was deep, and a little bitter, as she remembered these were the feelings of the boy who had rejected her. "More than that, no one has ever had my back before. I can count on you when things get ugly. I can put my back to you, and trust that nobody's going to stab it while you're still standing...and you won't go down easily. Hell, I get a hard-on every time I think of that fight in the locker-room."

"Oro!" Nayeli hissed again, sitting up a little to glare at him.

"She knows it," he growled, "It's not gonna hurt her. Now," he huffed as his foster-sister laid back down, still looking irked with his brazenness, "This...girl I like," he grunted, as if he didn't even like referring to her that way, "She's about the opposite of all that. I am confident fighting with you at my back. Around her...I stop wanting to fight. I am confident fighting with you, because you'll tell it like it is whether you think I'll like it or not. I feel like dirt the worms've already eaten and pooped back out if I make her mad, because I know I'm in the wrong without her saying it. You make me feel protective. She makes me feel supportive. I'm only good at one of those things. She lights the fire I need to learn the other. And every fucking time I screw it up--which is a lot, though I will forever deny it to her face--she just smiles, and pushes me to try again."

He had to stop for a moment to clear his throat. Maybe a bug flew into it. Maybe he was actually getting emotional. Neither girl dared to prompt him before he was ready. He was on a roll they didn't want to stop. "So...you'd better not tell anyone else I said this...but I am apologizing to you. Because it's not your fault. And I can't change this. You make me feel like a man. She makes me want to be a better one. And it's going to be a long while before I can do anything except disappoint either of you. So there," he finished with a huff and a tremble in his nose that he refused to acknowledge.

At some point during that tirade, both girls had rolled onto their sides, looking at him with eyes wide and jaws slack. Nayeli was quietly trying not to cry, easing back down to look at the sky with her heart pounding and carefully taking deep, quiet breaths. He didn't know that she knew he was talking about her. He'd probably only explained it because of that. Maybe he hoped she'd look back on this some day in the future and be glad she was there to hear it. She was, but even more so in the moment.

"...Fuck," Sarahi hissed, and finished rolling onto her belly to inch closer to him. Oro peeked one eye open to glance at her briefly. Her face was scrunched up and her nose quivering, though she was doing her level best not to cry anymore today...or this year, if she could manage it. "You jerk."

"You asked," he reminded her, exhaling slowly as he tried to keep his own chest from tightening up. He could act cold and aloof, and most of the time it wasn't even an act...but this time...

"Yeah," she agreed, wiping her eyes as she loomed over him. "I needed to know. I still had some small hope...that needed to either be kindled or crushed entirely. Now it is," she nodded, and Nayeli opened her eyes to give her a concerned look as the Sha'khari bent her upper half down over him, resting her hands on either side of his head, "I'll try to be gracious after this. I won't interfere, and I won't make it awkward. But before that...I am taking this, as a consolation."

Placing one hand on his chest to keep him pinned, Sarahi bowed her face to his and kissed him full on the lips, even thrusting her tongue between his teeth when they parted in surprise. She was careful not to leave it there long, for fear he'd bite down in spite...but the Rabbit let her have her way, and do as she pleased with his mouth for a good, long minute.

When she began to worry that her nose was about to dribble into his, she sat up, taking a shuddering breath, and kept her face turned squarely away from the house. If her parents saw her crying over him like this, they probably wouldn't let Oro come back to the house for a while, and she didn't want that. "You really should tell her. Soon. You jerk," Sarahi insisted, trying to smile as she said it.

"...Yeah," the Rabbit agreed quietly, his white fur turned an embarrassing shade of pink around his cheeks and ears, "Like I said...just as soon as I find...an honest way to make a living."

Nayeli sat up, discreetly wiping her own nose on her sleeve and tugged Oro's. "We should go," she suggested softly, "Mom will be up by now." Getting on her knees and facing Sarahi, the Lioness took her hand sympathetically. "I'll call you later. Will that be okay?" The Sha'khari nodded her head, but didn't try to speak passed the lump that had formed in her throat. "Okay. See you at school," Nayeli promised quietly, and gave the girl a kiss on the forehead as she got to her feet. Oro was already walking down the drive, his shoulders hunched and his hood pulled low over his ears.