The Premise

"Okay. Stand like this. Nina, your stance is off-balance." Zell corrected a black-haired cadet that was even shorter than he was, and made sure the rest of his martial arts students were following his example. "Now, assailants, try the fifth hold." The cadets in the second line grabbed the wrists of their partners who were standing before them. Yuki's hands wrapped around Zell's arms.

"Drop your shoulder, bend your knees, and twist!" Though he was expecting to be thrown, Yuki sailed past the instructor, barely managing to stay on the mat as he landed.

"Oops," Zell said, grinning sheepishly. "Forget my strength sometimes."

The class tittered. Zell stepped over and offered a hand to his volunteer. Once Yuki was on his feet, the spiky-haired blond turned to the class and had them try the maneuver one pair at a time.

Half an hour later class was dismissed and Zell headed to the cafeteria. As he passed Seifer Almasy in the hall, the larger man grin evilly and shoved Zell into a potted palm. The pot shattered and the tree tipped. Zell scrambled to his feet and tried to right the palm. Zell could barely hear Almasy's taunt of "Watch where you're going, Chickie" over the enraged pounding in his ears.

"I hate you!" Zell yelled after him. Seifer acknowledged his sentiment with a casual wave over his shoulder and continued talking to his DC posse.

Suddenly not in the mood to brave the lunch rush in the cafeteria, the blond decided to pound a few 'Rexaurs into dog chow.

By the time his anger had cooled, Zell was hot and tired. He was thankful that he had still been wearing his loose training clothes from class, but the new choker he'd picked up in Timber a few days prior was sticking uncomfortably to his neck. He removed it and wiped the leather with his shirt.

It was awesome. Slick black leather that had rainbow highlights when the light hit it the right way. It reminded him of the puddles of oil he'd seen at garages. Zell had already received several compliments in the three days that he'd been wearing it, and simply answered "Timber" whenever anyone asked where he had got it, purposely neglecting to mention that he'd bought it from a pet store.

The blond was both grateful and annoyed at the remarks he'd gotten. He'd secretly been hoping that maybe the collar would hint at the message that Zell was gay (he'd been open about it for years, he'd just had depressingly little action) and that he was more than willing to be a bottom for some nice, hot guy. Sadly, he hadn't gotten any more propositions in the past three days than he'd gotten in the last five months: zilch.

Despite the fact that it was mostly girls who asked about his new accessory, Zell was happy to get a little attention. Now that he and all his friends were instructors, the whole gang was too busy to hang out often. He was feeling lonely and unappreciated.

Pulling himself out of his unhappy thoughts, Zell latched the collar around his neck again and started back through the foliage to the entrance to the Training Center. He was exhausted; he hadn't been sleeping well and his impromptu workout had stretched a little too long. His limbs were shaky and heavy, and he knew he'd have to sit for a while before making his way to his dorm.

Unfortunately, his path was abruptly blocked by two T-Rexaurs.

"Shit," he muttered. He knew he was way too tired to deal with this with his fists.

Quetzalcoatl ended up killing the two reptiles, taking a surprising amount of damage in the process. Zell had been so drained that his summonings took longer than usual.

Reluctantly deciding that he needed a little boost to manage to trudge back home, he searched his pockets for any useful items. All he found were potion+s and a Pet House. Shrugging, he used the latter, figuring that Quetz could use some healing anyway.

Everything turned black.