Hey! Sorry for the lateness in putting another chapter up. I wasn't sure how I was gonna do this one. But it's finally up and looks pretty good. Enjoy!
Chapter 3:
STILL 6 1/2 years ago...
"Yah!" Pete was pinned down by Buzz, probably the third time in the last hour. He looked up at Buzz, who suddenly yawned. "I'm sorry, Buzz. Is my losing to you starting to bore you?" Pete asked with a glare.
"Honestly? Yeah," Buzz replied as he jumped back onto his feet. He leaned backwards, a loud crick being heard. "Ooh, good one." He stretched out, and then helped Pete back to his feet. "Were you just letting me win all those times?"
Pete clicked his tongue, "No, I just really wanted you to take this seriously."
Buzz put an arm around Pete's shoulders as they walked towards the tunnels. "You worry too much, Pete."
"And you worry too little. If you want the right to mate, you gotta take this seriously. Plenty of us males will be scrambling for the top three, you know."
"Hey, I did your little wrestling match. I'm pumped; I can handle this."
"Who are you hoping for?"
"Personally, I'd like to face up to Shomari. The way he's been acting up lately--"
"No, no, no, not who do you want to fight against. I meant who are you going to pick for your wife and possible potential mate?"
"Well..."
"Whoever it is, use her as motivation. Make it to the top three, give her a flower, and then wait to see what happens in about three months."
Buzz pouted his lips, then smiled and nodded. "Yeah... good advice. I'll use that." He stopped in front of the tunnel entrance, then blinked. "Why are you helping me when we'll probably end up fighting each other to mate?"
Pete shook his head and grinned, "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz... I don't care whether I mate or not. What I do care about is that someone face off against some of the jerk meerkats we have in this mob and keep them from having pups that act exactly like them. And you're a safe bet to be in the final three."
"Oh... 'cuz you'll end up babysitting them, right?"
Pete grinned again as he pushed Buzz down into the tunnel. "Correct. I don't want my hair to turn gray early." He jumped in after him.
The sun had already begun to set. The meerkats returned to the tunnels and met in the central meeting tunnel. The females stood to one side, a few helping each other with the last minute grooming. Panya and Hasina set the flowers they picked on another side of the meeting tunnel.
"This'll be great," Hasina said as she dusted her paws off.
"Whatever you say," Panya rolled her eyes as she walked over to the group of females. Hasina grimaced at her friend's "cheerful" mood and then followed her over to the females.
Uncle Max clapped his paws together, grabbing the females' attention. "OK, ladies, the sun has set and it's the night of the new moon. It's time for the first year males and females to get together. Everyone get in a straight line so the males can get a good look at you and vice versa."
The females did as they were instructed. Uncle Max then put his fingers in his mouth, and whistled. The males marched in from one of the joining tunnels, then lined up in front of the females. Uncle Max stepped in between the lines and then signaled them to separate. They did as instructed. Aside, the males started talking.
"I'll bet twenty beetles they're never gonna groom themselves like this again after tonight," Shomari said.
"Safe bet," a meerkat said.
"They're just trying to get our attention so we'll pick them... at least except Panya," a second meerkat said.
"What about Panya?" Buzz asked, standing on his tiptoes to look over the heads of meerkats to look over at Panya.
"Eh, she probably knows she'll be the last one picked out of the females, so she didn't bother making herself more presentable," Shomari said.
Buzz blinked, then growled at Shomari, "It's guys like you that discourage her into thinking she won't get picked."
"Are you saying she won't be the last one picked, Buzz?" Shomari cocked an eyebrow, looking Buzz over a bit.
"It's... possible."
Shomari grinned, "Well then... let's just hope you're right." Buzz let out one more growl before his Uncle Max came between them with half of a mango fruit.
"OK, OK, that's enough. Everyone cover your eyes, reach inside, and pull out a pebble. There are different colors of pebbles in here, two of each color, and the meerkats who pick the same color will face each other. We'll repeat this process until the final six," Uncle Max explained.
"OK, I get what you're saying, Uncle Max, but uh... how do we determine who faces off first?" Buzz asked as he covered his eyes and reached into the fruit to pick a pebble.
"We picked the color order ahead of time. Whoever draws the white pebbles begin fighting first, followed by the black, then the gray, and so on." The rest of the males covered their eyes and picked their pebbles, and then they uncovered them to see who had which color. "OK, those who have white, step into the middle of the tunnel and begin the fight. The one who pins the other down moves on to the next round. And remember, I will not tolerate biting or clawing. Any biting or clawing is instant disqualification. You're using your muscles to prove you're strong, not your claws and teeth. Are we clear?"
"As crystal," Pete said as the other meerkats nodded.
"Good. The two meerkats with the white pebbles, step into the center of the meeting tunnel for round one!"
Buzz had a white pebble so he stepped into the center of the meeting tunnel while the other males moved away from it. The other with the white pebble stepped up to Buzz and nodded to him. Shomari had a red pebble, so he would have to wait a while for his turn. When the fighting began, the males started cheering their friends on. The females even caught onto the cheering. The match only last three minutes before Buzz pinned the other down. The meerkats cheered for him as Buzz helped the loser up. The loser dusted himself off and walked to the other side of the tunnel to wait for the end when he can take his pick of the females. This fighting for the top continued for a while. More meerkats were knocked out of the competition for the top three the further up the ladder they went. Finally, only six remained... and Buzz and Shomari were a part of those six.
"All right, here's the last round. The winners are given first pick of the females and given the right to mate. No one wants to lose coming this far," Uncle Max said as he held a nutshell half up to the six males. "There are two white pebbles, two black pebbles, and two gray pebbles. This will determine who fights who and when. Go ahead and reach in." He held the nut over his head so the meerkats couldn't see inside. They reached up and in and pulled out their pebbles. Buzz pulled out a gray pebble... as did Shomari.
"Well, looks like it comes down to us, Buzz-Boy," Shomari said as he turned his pebble over a few times.
"Looks like," Buzz nodded with a grunt.
"I just hope you realize... I'm not aiming to lose to you."
"Ditto."
Buzz and Shomari patiently waited for the two matches before them to end. But they knew it would not be soon, since these meerkats were strong enough to make it to the final six. But patience paid off as the final match was to begin. Buzz and Shomari were taking the last few moments to loosening up before the fight.
Buzz stretched out, and a few cricks were heard. "Ooo, that was good. OK, OK, you can do this... just use her as motivation. Just get past Shomari and you win." He stretched his arms over his head and moved his neck from side to side, releasing a few more cricks. He then rotated his shoulders and walked into the center of the tunnel.
Shomari joined him. "You ready?"
"You bet."
"Good." Shomari growled and leapt onto Buzz, who shouted in surprise. He growled and started to fight. Several meerkats began cheering for them.
"C'mon, Buzz!" Panya found herself cheering.
The two meerkats had their teeth clenched tightly, growling, their paws interlocked and trying to overpower each other. Buzz swung his foot under Shomari's legs, causing him to fall over, bringing Buzz down with him. Buzz went to pin him, but then Shomari kicked Buzz in the stomach, causing Buzz to cough and reel backwards. He coughed a few more times as he rubbed his stomach, then yelped when Shomari jumped onto his back and tried to force him down. Buzz growled and elbowed Shomari in the stomach. Shomari coughed and released his grip. Shomari growled and jumped onto Buzz, resuming the match. Several minutes passed. Both meerkats stood away from each other, exchanging glares. Both were tired from fighting, but neither were ready to give up, not when he right to mate was a mere pin away. They ran towards each other and interlocked paws again. Buzz forced what energy he had left and forced Shomari down onto the floor. Shomari grunt as Buzz pinned him down and silently started counting to ten. Shomari tried to force Buzz off, but to little avail. Finally, Shomari turned his head over to Buzz's paw, which was holding Shomari's arm down. Shomari knew what would happen if he did what he had in mind, but he would rather be disqualified than admit defeat. He reached over, bared his teeth, and bit Buzz on the arm. Buzz yelped and reeled backwards, wrapping his other paw over the wound. Shomari panted and spat the hair and blood from his mouth as he pushed himself back to his feet.
Uncle Max stepped up between the two before they could go at it again. "Save what strength you have left. You forfeit this match, Shomari," he said in a low voice.
"I'd rather be disqualified than admit defeat to this low-life," Shomari growled.
"I was about to beat you," Buzz hissed.
"Stupid rules anyway. If you expect to actually fight someone in a life or death struggle, you need to use your claws and teeth."
"This wasn't a fight for life or death."
"It is if you want to give life."
"Sorry, Shomari, but you lost. Now, you can still have a wife, but--" Uncle Max began, but was interrupted by Shomari.
"There's no point to a wife if you can't even mate with her."
"If you want a mate so strongly..." Uncle Max said as he stepped up to him. "Then leave this colony, find another, and try your luck there. I'm sure there are mobs out there that don't mind the tooth and claw right-to-mate-fights."
Shomari sneered, "That's exactly what I'll do." He turned and walked towards the exit, but stopped when he almost walked out. He turned to Buzz, who was getting his arm wrapped in a leaf. "We're not through, Buzz." He then turned back and walked out, disappearing from sight.
Buzz let out a sigh of relief, and then was handed a flower by his Uncle Max. "Your fight was the longest. You get the first pick, Buzz."
Buzz looked at the flower a moment, then smiled. He walked towards the females, who eagerly lined up in front of him. He looked at the females for a few moments, and then he frowned. "Where's Panya?"
In her nest Panya was cleaning her nest up, making sure she would have a comfortable sleep. "Oh, what a night. I didn't even have time to watch the end of the fight. Oh well." She climbed into her nest and started to curl up into a ball. She closed her eyes when she heard someone approaching. She lifted her head up to see Buzz walked up to her next. "So... who won?"
"I did... but by disqualification," Buzz nervously admitted, showing her the leaf bandage on his arm.
"Shomari hurt you?"
"Yeah, but I'll live. Good news, we won't have to worry about him anymore. He apparently got tired of our ways and left. We won't see him again."
"Great... so... going to clean your nest for your mate to move into and you thought you'd say good night to me while you were here?" Panya asked as she rolled onto her back.
"Pretty much."
"Well, tell her I said good night then." Panya turned onto her side and away from Buzz.
"How can I?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." Buzz leaned over so she got a fair view of him. He then held the flower up to her. "How can you say good night to yourself?"
Panya sat up to look at him. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I want you to be my mate, Panya."
"Why? Oh, I know. You're picking me because of my 'pup-bearing' hips, right?"
"Huh? No. I'm not the kind of guy to pick a girl on looks alone. Believe it or not, I look for personality and down-to-earthiness in a female. Like how you didn't groom yourself to attract a male."
"I didn't think anyone would pick me, and I was planning to leave after your fight, but I got tired..."
"Well, you were wrong." Buzz held the flower to her again. "So... will you be my mate?"
Panya smiled and nodded, accepting the flower. "Yes. Should I start moving into your nest?"
"Actually your nest looks better than mine... I think I'll start moving into yours."
Panya smiled as Buzz started to walk away, "Good choice."
Buzz stopped to confirm what she meant. "On moving into your nest, or picking you?"
"Both." Buzz grinned and continued down the tunnel to collect his items from his nest.
To be continued...
Chapter 3:
STILL 6 1/2 years ago...
"Yah!" Pete was pinned down by Buzz, probably the third time in the last hour. He looked up at Buzz, who suddenly yawned. "I'm sorry, Buzz. Is my losing to you starting to bore you?" Pete asked with a glare.
"Honestly? Yeah," Buzz replied as he jumped back onto his feet. He leaned backwards, a loud crick being heard. "Ooh, good one." He stretched out, and then helped Pete back to his feet. "Were you just letting me win all those times?"
Pete clicked his tongue, "No, I just really wanted you to take this seriously."
Buzz put an arm around Pete's shoulders as they walked towards the tunnels. "You worry too much, Pete."
"And you worry too little. If you want the right to mate, you gotta take this seriously. Plenty of us males will be scrambling for the top three, you know."
"Hey, I did your little wrestling match. I'm pumped; I can handle this."
"Who are you hoping for?"
"Personally, I'd like to face up to Shomari. The way he's been acting up lately--"
"No, no, no, not who do you want to fight against. I meant who are you going to pick for your wife and possible potential mate?"
"Well..."
"Whoever it is, use her as motivation. Make it to the top three, give her a flower, and then wait to see what happens in about three months."
Buzz pouted his lips, then smiled and nodded. "Yeah... good advice. I'll use that." He stopped in front of the tunnel entrance, then blinked. "Why are you helping me when we'll probably end up fighting each other to mate?"
Pete shook his head and grinned, "Buzz, Buzz, Buzz... I don't care whether I mate or not. What I do care about is that someone face off against some of the jerk meerkats we have in this mob and keep them from having pups that act exactly like them. And you're a safe bet to be in the final three."
"Oh... 'cuz you'll end up babysitting them, right?"
Pete grinned again as he pushed Buzz down into the tunnel. "Correct. I don't want my hair to turn gray early." He jumped in after him.
The sun had already begun to set. The meerkats returned to the tunnels and met in the central meeting tunnel. The females stood to one side, a few helping each other with the last minute grooming. Panya and Hasina set the flowers they picked on another side of the meeting tunnel.
"This'll be great," Hasina said as she dusted her paws off.
"Whatever you say," Panya rolled her eyes as she walked over to the group of females. Hasina grimaced at her friend's "cheerful" mood and then followed her over to the females.
Uncle Max clapped his paws together, grabbing the females' attention. "OK, ladies, the sun has set and it's the night of the new moon. It's time for the first year males and females to get together. Everyone get in a straight line so the males can get a good look at you and vice versa."
The females did as they were instructed. Uncle Max then put his fingers in his mouth, and whistled. The males marched in from one of the joining tunnels, then lined up in front of the females. Uncle Max stepped in between the lines and then signaled them to separate. They did as instructed. Aside, the males started talking.
"I'll bet twenty beetles they're never gonna groom themselves like this again after tonight," Shomari said.
"Safe bet," a meerkat said.
"They're just trying to get our attention so we'll pick them... at least except Panya," a second meerkat said.
"What about Panya?" Buzz asked, standing on his tiptoes to look over the heads of meerkats to look over at Panya.
"Eh, she probably knows she'll be the last one picked out of the females, so she didn't bother making herself more presentable," Shomari said.
Buzz blinked, then growled at Shomari, "It's guys like you that discourage her into thinking she won't get picked."
"Are you saying she won't be the last one picked, Buzz?" Shomari cocked an eyebrow, looking Buzz over a bit.
"It's... possible."
Shomari grinned, "Well then... let's just hope you're right." Buzz let out one more growl before his Uncle Max came between them with half of a mango fruit.
"OK, OK, that's enough. Everyone cover your eyes, reach inside, and pull out a pebble. There are different colors of pebbles in here, two of each color, and the meerkats who pick the same color will face each other. We'll repeat this process until the final six," Uncle Max explained.
"OK, I get what you're saying, Uncle Max, but uh... how do we determine who faces off first?" Buzz asked as he covered his eyes and reached into the fruit to pick a pebble.
"We picked the color order ahead of time. Whoever draws the white pebbles begin fighting first, followed by the black, then the gray, and so on." The rest of the males covered their eyes and picked their pebbles, and then they uncovered them to see who had which color. "OK, those who have white, step into the middle of the tunnel and begin the fight. The one who pins the other down moves on to the next round. And remember, I will not tolerate biting or clawing. Any biting or clawing is instant disqualification. You're using your muscles to prove you're strong, not your claws and teeth. Are we clear?"
"As crystal," Pete said as the other meerkats nodded.
"Good. The two meerkats with the white pebbles, step into the center of the meeting tunnel for round one!"
Buzz had a white pebble so he stepped into the center of the meeting tunnel while the other males moved away from it. The other with the white pebble stepped up to Buzz and nodded to him. Shomari had a red pebble, so he would have to wait a while for his turn. When the fighting began, the males started cheering their friends on. The females even caught onto the cheering. The match only last three minutes before Buzz pinned the other down. The meerkats cheered for him as Buzz helped the loser up. The loser dusted himself off and walked to the other side of the tunnel to wait for the end when he can take his pick of the females. This fighting for the top continued for a while. More meerkats were knocked out of the competition for the top three the further up the ladder they went. Finally, only six remained... and Buzz and Shomari were a part of those six.
"All right, here's the last round. The winners are given first pick of the females and given the right to mate. No one wants to lose coming this far," Uncle Max said as he held a nutshell half up to the six males. "There are two white pebbles, two black pebbles, and two gray pebbles. This will determine who fights who and when. Go ahead and reach in." He held the nut over his head so the meerkats couldn't see inside. They reached up and in and pulled out their pebbles. Buzz pulled out a gray pebble... as did Shomari.
"Well, looks like it comes down to us, Buzz-Boy," Shomari said as he turned his pebble over a few times.
"Looks like," Buzz nodded with a grunt.
"I just hope you realize... I'm not aiming to lose to you."
"Ditto."
Buzz and Shomari patiently waited for the two matches before them to end. But they knew it would not be soon, since these meerkats were strong enough to make it to the final six. But patience paid off as the final match was to begin. Buzz and Shomari were taking the last few moments to loosening up before the fight.
Buzz stretched out, and a few cricks were heard. "Ooo, that was good. OK, OK, you can do this... just use her as motivation. Just get past Shomari and you win." He stretched his arms over his head and moved his neck from side to side, releasing a few more cricks. He then rotated his shoulders and walked into the center of the tunnel.
Shomari joined him. "You ready?"
"You bet."
"Good." Shomari growled and leapt onto Buzz, who shouted in surprise. He growled and started to fight. Several meerkats began cheering for them.
"C'mon, Buzz!" Panya found herself cheering.
The two meerkats had their teeth clenched tightly, growling, their paws interlocked and trying to overpower each other. Buzz swung his foot under Shomari's legs, causing him to fall over, bringing Buzz down with him. Buzz went to pin him, but then Shomari kicked Buzz in the stomach, causing Buzz to cough and reel backwards. He coughed a few more times as he rubbed his stomach, then yelped when Shomari jumped onto his back and tried to force him down. Buzz growled and elbowed Shomari in the stomach. Shomari coughed and released his grip. Shomari growled and jumped onto Buzz, resuming the match. Several minutes passed. Both meerkats stood away from each other, exchanging glares. Both were tired from fighting, but neither were ready to give up, not when he right to mate was a mere pin away. They ran towards each other and interlocked paws again. Buzz forced what energy he had left and forced Shomari down onto the floor. Shomari grunt as Buzz pinned him down and silently started counting to ten. Shomari tried to force Buzz off, but to little avail. Finally, Shomari turned his head over to Buzz's paw, which was holding Shomari's arm down. Shomari knew what would happen if he did what he had in mind, but he would rather be disqualified than admit defeat. He reached over, bared his teeth, and bit Buzz on the arm. Buzz yelped and reeled backwards, wrapping his other paw over the wound. Shomari panted and spat the hair and blood from his mouth as he pushed himself back to his feet.
Uncle Max stepped up between the two before they could go at it again. "Save what strength you have left. You forfeit this match, Shomari," he said in a low voice.
"I'd rather be disqualified than admit defeat to this low-life," Shomari growled.
"I was about to beat you," Buzz hissed.
"Stupid rules anyway. If you expect to actually fight someone in a life or death struggle, you need to use your claws and teeth."
"This wasn't a fight for life or death."
"It is if you want to give life."
"Sorry, Shomari, but you lost. Now, you can still have a wife, but--" Uncle Max began, but was interrupted by Shomari.
"There's no point to a wife if you can't even mate with her."
"If you want a mate so strongly..." Uncle Max said as he stepped up to him. "Then leave this colony, find another, and try your luck there. I'm sure there are mobs out there that don't mind the tooth and claw right-to-mate-fights."
Shomari sneered, "That's exactly what I'll do." He turned and walked towards the exit, but stopped when he almost walked out. He turned to Buzz, who was getting his arm wrapped in a leaf. "We're not through, Buzz." He then turned back and walked out, disappearing from sight.
Buzz let out a sigh of relief, and then was handed a flower by his Uncle Max. "Your fight was the longest. You get the first pick, Buzz."
Buzz looked at the flower a moment, then smiled. He walked towards the females, who eagerly lined up in front of him. He looked at the females for a few moments, and then he frowned. "Where's Panya?"
In her nest Panya was cleaning her nest up, making sure she would have a comfortable sleep. "Oh, what a night. I didn't even have time to watch the end of the fight. Oh well." She climbed into her nest and started to curl up into a ball. She closed her eyes when she heard someone approaching. She lifted her head up to see Buzz walked up to her next. "So... who won?"
"I did... but by disqualification," Buzz nervously admitted, showing her the leaf bandage on his arm.
"Shomari hurt you?"
"Yeah, but I'll live. Good news, we won't have to worry about him anymore. He apparently got tired of our ways and left. We won't see him again."
"Great... so... going to clean your nest for your mate to move into and you thought you'd say good night to me while you were here?" Panya asked as she rolled onto her back.
"Pretty much."
"Well, tell her I said good night then." Panya turned onto her side and away from Buzz.
"How can I?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well..." Buzz leaned over so she got a fair view of him. He then held the flower up to her. "How can you say good night to yourself?"
Panya sat up to look at him. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying I want you to be my mate, Panya."
"Why? Oh, I know. You're picking me because of my 'pup-bearing' hips, right?"
"Huh? No. I'm not the kind of guy to pick a girl on looks alone. Believe it or not, I look for personality and down-to-earthiness in a female. Like how you didn't groom yourself to attract a male."
"I didn't think anyone would pick me, and I was planning to leave after your fight, but I got tired..."
"Well, you were wrong." Buzz held the flower to her again. "So... will you be my mate?"
Panya smiled and nodded, accepting the flower. "Yes. Should I start moving into your nest?"
"Actually your nest looks better than mine... I think I'll start moving into yours."
Panya smiled as Buzz started to walk away, "Good choice."
Buzz stopped to confirm what she meant. "On moving into your nest, or picking you?"
"Both." Buzz grinned and continued down the tunnel to collect his items from his nest.
To be continued...