Chapter 5

"Mmph! Hmph hmph! Hhmph!"

The large punching bag swayed continuously from each powerful jab from Dean's fists, the impacts echoing throughout the spacious sports gym.

Dean continued striking, keeping a low, solid stance while moving only to shift positions. He finally reared his head and unleashed a powerful headbutt, which caused the punching bag to swing upwards almost ninety degrees. Dean caught it as it swung back, maintaining his unwavering stance without getting pushed back a single inch from the heavy impact.

Breathing heavily, he released his grip while stepping back and lifted the bottom of his tank top to wipe the sweat from his brow, revealing his toned and solid abdominals.

"Yep! Ya still got it, Big D," complimented the middle-aged white mountain goat, leaning against a raised boxing ring.

"Haah... Endurance's not as it once was, though," Dean said as he reached for his water bottle on the ground.

"Haha! Still, you're in better form than most of the brats in here, and you retired from B.M.A years ago," the goat laughed heartily.

At that same moment, a loud crack resounded from two young bighorn rams bashing their horns together in the ring behind.

B.M.A—or Bighorn Martial Arts—has been growing pretty popular as a spectator sport among animals in recent years. Aside from competitions involving bulls, rhinos, or hippos, B.M.A fights are considered some of the fiercest seen among herbivores. With the conditions of victory being either pushing an opponent out of a ring or knocking them unconscious, it is little wonder many find it riveting—especially when most species of sheep are considered weak and more vulnerable to predation.

"Speaking of brats, I've been hearing Joe's been making waves in the fight circuit," said the goat. "Captain of his school team, winning three championships in a row, colleges scrambling to get him on their side. Boy, if you weren't still breathing, I'd have thunk the kid your reincarnation, or something. Hehehe!"

Dean pretended to ignore the goat's quips and shower of praises towards Joe as he took another swig from his bottle. No doubt, his son is a very talented fighter. However—

"—the boy still needs to fix that reckless streak and impatient attitude of his if he wants to succeed at all… as a fighter, or as a man," Dean said matter-of-factly. He then set the bottle back on the ground and returned to his starting position in front of the punching bag.

"Ever the harsh critic, even towards your own flesh and blood, huh?" the goat sighed. "Though, you always act pretty soft towards that lion kid you took in. You even trained him yourself, for a while."

Dean's fists began to lower to his sides at the first mention of Rob.

"So, you grooming him to become a fighter, too? With that monster strength and body of his, I can definitely see him being a force to be reckoned with in whatever sport he takes up," the goat said while stroking the long, snowy hairs on his chin.

"No, Berg. I didn't get him into martial arts and weight training so he could fight better."

"Hm?" The mountain goat cocked an eyebrow, his hand stopping midway.

"Besides," Dean continued as he raised his fists back up. "He already has dreams of becoming a doctor, and is planning on taking the med school entrance exams soon. That is...if tomorrow they…"

Dean trailed off, and then abruptly released a loud snort as he entered a lowered stance. No, not yet. Not after he's come this far…

"HHMMMPPH!" Dean let loose a single, powerful cross punch, followed by a series of ferocious jabs and occasional knee strikes. Berg was left scratching at the base of his horn, trying to make sense of the ram's last words and his sudden burst of aggression.

"Come on, open on."

"Sis… I'm n-not a little kid anymore. I can hold my o-own spoon."

"Tell me that after you start finishing what's on your plate without needing reminding."

This was a scene that had become pretty routine for the past week: Maria visiting Rob at the hospital right after school, her seeing an untouched tray of food, fussing at him for several minutes about eating properly, and finally forcing him to be fed by her.

"Look, I get you're dealing with more anxiety than usual with what's happening," she said as she shoved a spoon full of vegetables and tofu into the young lion's mouth. "But, you're going to get sick for real if you stop eating completely."

"Y-yah, buth—"

"Chew."

Rob immediately did what he was told and gulped everything down. He knew how stubborn—and intimidating—she can become. Even as little children, Maria would fuss over him at home and school, taking upon herself the mantle of "big sister"—even though she was born only two months ahead of him.

"What're you smirking about?" Maria asked in a jokingly irritated tone.

"Oh, i-it's nothing," Rob said. "Just… thinking how it's b-been a while since we spent time t-together like this. I know... w-we both have gotten pretty busy with school, club, and... and whatnot since middle school."

He then started to twiddle his thumbs, becoming a little bashful as he continued.

"W-What I mean to say is, I'm glad that you've been c-coming over to check on me. It's… kinda nice... h-hanging out with you again... even when you—you end up going full 'Big-Sister Mode' as soon as y-you walk in."

Maria stayed completely quiet even after Rob finished speaking. She merely continued twisting the spoon around the bowl of tofu and vegetable stir fry, her expression somewhat sad and dour.

"Um, Sis? Are you o-okay?" Rob asked worriedly, noticing her demeanor. She twitched a bit in response to his inquiry, and sighed softly.

"It's just…" Maria fell silent again for a few moments, which made Rob anxious whether or not his previous words offended her in some way.

"...I'm worried whether you'll remember to eat or not when you're back at school."

"Huh?"

"Hmm, maybe I should follow you around during mealtimes, just to make sure," Maria said thoughtfully as she touched her finger to her chin.

"Wa-hold on!" Rob began to protest.

"What? You said you don't mind if I'm going full 'Big-Sister Mode'. Besides, you'd be skin and bones by now if I hadn't come around here."

She then lifted up another full spoon of stir fry to his mouth. "If I have to, I'll force-feed again if you decide to just sit there during lunch hour."

Rob's face immediately turned red underneath his fur, which has started recovering it's usual apricot hue. He knew that other animals would start staring and pointing at the spectacle of someone as big as him being fed like some toddler.

He opened his mouth to try once more to dissuade Maria, but it was instantly stuffed with more tofu and greens. At that moment, Rob knew he had no choice but to acquiesce to the ewes demands and continued chewing. Maria giggled as she saw the young lion's humorously defeated expression.

"Hmm… Mmhmm, it's just about completely healed," the moose physician said with a satisfied expression. "It's always a wonder how carnivores can mend from such deep wounds so quickly, without the need for stitches."

Rob's doctor and his accompanying goat nurse had come in to redress the large gashes on the left side of his muzzle while appraising the progression of it's recovery.

As he and the nurse prepared more antibiotics and fresh bandages, Rob caught Maria staring intently at the four-pronged, jagged scar that was left behind by his assailant.

"Does... does it l-look bad?" he asked nervously.

"Mmm…" Maria narrowed her eyes as she focused on the injury. "Looks a LOT better than a few days ago. And it actually makes you look like less of a pushover."

Rob sighed at her comment as the nurse stifled a laugh. Maria would often jokingly accuse him of being "too wimpy" or "too much of a doormat" to be taken seriously. He knew he had a gentle demeanor and somewhat passive temperament, but she is probably one of the only animals he knew that would tease him relentlessly on it.

"Well, it looks like we can remove the bandage before we discharge you tomorrow," the moose doctor said with a smile, after the nurse finished redressing the wound. "You just have to make sure to keep your face clean in the coming days."

With a short bow and a wave, the physician and nurse took their leave of the hospital room, which now had a familiar silence.

Being discharged the next day would have been good news if not for the fact the police wanted the young lion at the station soon after. Rob's claws started to tremble as fear once again welled up from within his chest. He almost wished that he was more severely injured so he didn't have to go there so soon.

"It'll all work out."

The quivering in Rob's claws stopped almost immediately at Maria's warm touch.

"You'll be back in school in no time, and we can put this whole mess behind us," she reassured.

The large carnivore nodded, wanting nothing more than to believe her. Though, he doubts he can ever let go of the sight of another animal lying in his gor—

No! Stop right there, he suddenly commanded himself, tightly clenching his fists. Rob endeavored to keep those images as far away from the forefront of his mind. It was already bad enough with them appearing in his resurging nightmares, but he refused to see them replay while awake.

"Hey..."

Maria tapped on Rob's shoulder, startling him slightly.

"What's 3 times 47?" she said as she grinned.

"...one hundred f-forty one," the young lion answered.

"Right!" She exclaimed joyfully as she looked at the small calculator on her phone. "Okay let's try a harder one."

Rob smiled softly at the ewe as she tapped in another equation. She always did know how to help him through these little... episodes of his. For the rest of the late afternoon she continued, each random number sounding like sweet, gentle notes to a lullaby in quick-flicking ears of the young lion.

"*whistle* Well, ain't you a big boy!" detective Rudy cheerfully exclaimed.

Rob, along with Dean and Sandra, had just arrived at the police station around noontime. All of the clerks and officers throughout the office gawked in astonishment at the sheer size of the young lion. Standing at almost six feet, nine inches and sporting a large, muscular physique—not unlike his uncle or Joe—it wasn't surprising he looked so imposing.

At least, he would be if not for his slightly flattened ears, hunched shoulders, and his hand anxiously rubbing his right arm.

"I heard ligers and liligers can get pretty huge, but seein' ya myself, I'm actually pretty impressed," the detective said, adjusting his spectacles as his eyes scanned up and down Rob's frame.

"AHEM!" Dean cleared his throat very loudly as he stood crossed-armed next to the apprehensive young carnivore.

"Right, right," the sloth bear responded as he motioned his claws downward. "Rob, was it? Think yer up fer answerin' a few questions?"

The young lion nervously lifted his greenish-gray eyes to meet the detective's small, dark brown orbs, as he remained silent.

The bear smiled as he pushed up his glasses, and then amicably patted Rob's arm. "Ya got nothin' to worry about, kid. Just yer run-of-the-mill Q an' A to help us figure out what happened."

"...O-okay." Rob quietly mumbled. His shoulders began to relax, thanks the detective's friendly disposition.

"Great! Now, jus' follow me." With an approved nod from Dean, the young lion followed Detective Rudy across the office.

The bighorn couple looked on, the ram wrapping his arm around his trembling wife's shoulder, as both carnivores disappeared behind the interrogation room door.


Author's Note

Another chapter down! I just hope I can keep up a good quality to the story as time goes on. The speech impediment thing was something I could when I imagined Rob speaking. Plus, it feels like it adds some charm to Rob's character, makes him more endearing. I don't know! Haha!

Anyways, now I'm thinking of commissioning someone to draw Rob as the new cover art. Anyone know of some good artists? :)