Starry Savana Sky
Chapter 7: Little Lion, Big Roar
Steadily, little by little, Yuu improved in her physical prowess. The Spelldrive tryouts were drawing near, and she'd managed to put on a little curve and muscle, but still remained a foot shorter than most of her dorm mates. While Jack helped her with speed and endurance during the track club activities, Leona spent their morning and weekend practices working on her balance and stealth.
"GOTCHA! WAHHH!!!" Yuu leapt from the bushes only to end up somersaulting and landing on her back with a hard thump. "Ow…"
"Nice landing Nyahaha!" Grim laughed from his spot in the apple tree. The ground nearby was littered with cores from his munch fest.
"Not funny, Grim." she pouted up at Leona who scowled down at her. "You could still hear me?"
"Every step." He sighed heavily. "You're breathing too hard and for someone as tiny as you, you've got heavy paws. How the hell you managed to catch a rabbit on your first night here is beyond me."
"Luck, mostly." She stuck out her tongue. " I was in a tree eyeing the competition and it just appeared underneath me. All I had to do was jump down."
"Well you better hope your luck doesn't run out, because that's the only way you're gonna make the team." He hefted her up.
"Well it would help if I had a demonstration yah know." She crossed her arms.
"Oh?" His smirk came fast. "You wanna see how a pro does it, huh?"
"Or you at least." She smirked back and earned an aggressive head rub.
"Cheeky kid, aren't yah? Alright… let's see." He sniffed the air, scenting out a worthy target. "Mmmm there's a couple of unsuspecting herbivores headed our way. Back in the bushes, keep still and keep quiet."
He gave her a shove and leapt over the foliage ducking down low. Yuu grunted but stuck close by, doing her best to keep quiet and not move. Her eyes became intense, the color in them shifting as she went into huntress mode. She could smell the oncoming pedestrians too, and hoped they didn't mind a good scare prank.
She felt Leona shift behind her, and her heart skipped a little. The intense scent of his masculinity stirring primal urges she'd yet to understand. His breath was hot on her ears causing them to twitch and she tried desperately to keep her focus on the task at hand.
"Here come our victims now…" he chuckled low and throaty.
"Ugh, we're never gonna find those flamingos at this rate. I do not want to lose my head again!"
"It was your fault for not locking the cage properly. Don't worry, I heard movement a minute ago. They may be over in this direction."
"Oh! It's Ace and Deuce! YO! ACE!!!" Grim waved his paw.
"Idiot." Yuu hissed but Leona just pressed a finger to his lips, motioning her to stay quiet.
"Shhh stay low to the ground, and try not to make a sound."
Yuu blinked back at Leona. His eyes were focused on Ace and Deuce, but his hands adjusted her stance. He pressed her lower to the ground and her ears laid back a bit in submission from the touch. Shaking it off she turned her intense vision on her "prey."
"Oh! Grim, so it was you I heard a bit ago." Ace sighed but smiled anyway. "Hey is Yuu around? We could use her help tracking our flamingos down."
"Oh she's around. She's busy training for the Spelldrive tournament." Grim snickered. "Leona is giving her a pouncing lesson."
"Ah cool, pouncing." Deuce smiled obliviously, but Ace caught on quick.
"Wait… POUNCING? WAHHH!!!"
"GAH!" Both Ace and Deuce collapse and cower as two lions leapt at them from the dark bushes. Leona pinned Deuce to the ground with his forearm and Ace lay dumbfounded under a smug Yuu. Grim burst out laughing, clinging to the tree branch under him to keep from falling.
"Ugh carnivores." Ace held his chest and let out a long aggravated sigh of relief. "Don't ever do that again, Yuu. You scared the life outta me."
"Sorry bout that, but hey it was good practice." She got up and helped them to their feet. "What are yah guys doing out here anyway? Don't you have a croquet game later?"
"Yeah, but someone didn't lock the cages properly and the Flamingos got out. You'd think a gaggle of colorful birds would be easy to find…" Deuce dusted himself off and eyed Leona who went back to lounging under the tree. "Maybe you guys could help us out?"
"I'd be happy to help, but Mr. Lazy Bones over there would rather eat dirt than lend a hand." She smirked over her shoulder at him and earned a grunt. "he's gotta be bribed."
"They don't need my help or yours for that matter. Their Flamingos are hanging out in the groves over there." Leona nodded his head. "Give 'em a good scare and they'll come out onto the plain on their own. You can wrangle them easily from there."
"For real?! Awesome! Now if only we had a way to scare them without getting too close." Ace rubbed his chin… and quickly got an idea. "Hey why not lend a voice? Yah know… Grr, Grr…" Ace mimicked and earned a glare.
"Excuse me?" Leona sneered and had Yuu giggling.
"He means like this…" Yuu planted her feet, bared her fangs, and with a deep breath let out a roar that sent tingles down the boys' spines. The Flamingos in question scattered out of the bushes and Deuce quickly started to wrangle them in one by one.
"WOO HOO! WAY TO GO YUU!' Ace leapt high in celebration before running out to join Deuce. "Do it again!"
"Come on, Senpai, show me how it's done." Yuu gave him a nudge with her foot. With a soft chuckle Leona got to his feet.
"You're such a pain." He tossed his head back and let out another guttural roar that shook the entire plane. The air became filled with color as flamingos flew and danced around in a panic. Grim fell out of his place in the tree with a yelp and Yuu laughed watching her two Heartslabyul friends chase their quarry.
Ruggie watched the group from a distance, his arms filled with goods he'd gotten from Sam's shop. His lips curved upward a little. He'd never seen Leona participate in such activity before. Usually if it wasn't worth his time he ignored it or made someone else do it… which usually meant him.
He'd never seen Leona laugh like that, or have fun. His attitude was usually moody, or arrogantly proud. Leona just wasn't the type to laugh, and have fun with a group of friends… and yet there he was.
"Will wonders never cease?" He chuckled and looked at his phone for the time. "Oh, crap, I hate to ruin a good thing but.. LEONA-SAN!" Ruggie called out to his dorm head who's smile instantly fell into an annoyed scowl. "You better wrap up what you're doing and head back. The meeting is in an hour and you can't be late this time!"
"Ah hell…" Leona held his head. "That's right. I forgot that it was today."
"Do you have a dorm head meeting?" Yuu asked curiously.
"No, it's a personal meeting with the guy in charge of the Spelldrive tournament. I'm negotiating some terms with him."
"Oh, okay… I can finish up on my own. I wanted to find Jack anyway so we can get a few practice sessions in before tryouts." She cracked her knuckles. "I'm so ready to show my stuff."
"You definitely filled out well enough… though you're still short." He ruffled her hair but his amused expression immediately fell. "So… are you and Jack dating or something?"
"WHAT?" Ace and Deuce immediately stopped what they were doing to ogle at the two.
"Eh?" Yuu blinked in confusion. "No… Why would you ask me something like that?" She scratched her cheek. "Did Jack say we were?"
"Not in so many words. You've just been spending a lot of time with him, and he seems unusually protective of you for someone who prefers to be on his own." Leona shrugged.
"We're just friends. I think he's just protective of me for the same reasons you are."
"Oh?" Leona smirked, though his eyes lit with annoyance. "What reasons are those?"
"You both feel a sense of responsibility for me, like older brothers." She smiled. "You're both protective, but you're also harsh when I need you to be. You both really like to tease me, but are also kind in your own way."
Leona felt his lip twitch when he heard the older brother comment.
"I see… well if that's the case then he should have a problem with us going out to dinner sometime. Maybe this weekend? I know a great place in town where we can have a good time and eat like kings." He took her hand. "It'll be my treat… whaddya say?"
"That sounds great!" Grim suddenly shouted, licking his maw.
"Huh?" Leona turned annoyed eyes down at Grim.
"Whoa… Dinner with Leona-Senpai treating? Sounds great, I'm there!" Ace slung an arm over Yuu's shoulder. Deuce mimicked the move from the other side.
"Yeah, me too!"
"That's really nice of you to pay for all of us, Senpai." Yuu smiled brightly and clasped both of his hands in hers. "I'll ask Jack if he'd like to come. It'll be a great way for all of us to bond as friends."
"Tch… should have seen that coming." He grunted. "You'll eat what I order and like it." He wiggled his hands free and turned his back to them. "Gotta go."
"Thanks again, Senpai!" Yuu waved and elbowed the two in the ribs. "Who said the two of you could come?"
"Eh?! Didn't you just say it would be a great bonding experience?"
"Doesn't mean I wanted you to crash my chance of getting a date with Leona Senpai." She pouted at them.
"You really wanna date that guy? Isn't he a bit old for you?" Ace scowled.
"Only by four years…" her ears lowered. "It's not that big of an age gap."
"Sure it is. Besides, what about Jack?" Deuce asked.
"What about him? We're just friends like I said before." She flustered and made circles with her toes.
"Pardon my language, but BULL SHIT!" Deuce scowled.
"Eh?!"
"I've seen the way you look at him during practice. You get this look on your face like you just received a gift and are ready to tear it open at a moment's notice."
"What?" Yuu blushed bright red and held her face. "I do not look like that! You lie!"
"Nope, he's right, I've seen it too." Grim agreed. "It's the same look when you're watching him play Spelldrive. Nyahaha! You're totally enamored!"
"I am not! Oh gawd I just admire him, that's all. He's not at all my type." She hid her face behind her hands.
"Oh really, then what is your type?"
"Well… you know…" she blushed more and fidgeted. "Oh just shut up and go collect your quarry already!" She turned her back to them. A glint in the grass caught her eye and she walked over to the source. "Uh-oh, looks like Leona-senpai forgot his cell phone. I better see if I can go catch him. Grim, wait here for me until I get back!"
"Fngah… okey dokey." Still dizzy from falling out of the tree, Grim wobbled over to Ace and Deuce who went back to getting the flamingos in their cages. "Oh my head…" he shook off the dizziness and scowled up at them. "You know you two are going about this the wrong way right?"
"Huh? What are you talking about grim?" Deuce questioned.
"Yuu may be small, but she's the rebellious alpha type. When people try to tell her what to do, her automatic instinct is to do the exact opposite. If you really want her and Jack to get together, then you should persuade him to make his move first." Grim explained.
"He's got a point." Ace had to admit. "We should go talk to him. Any idea where he's at right now, Grim?"
"Probably in our dorm practice area. Everyone's super busy training for the Spelldrive tryouts, and Jack's the best player we've got right now." Grim explained with a grin.
"Awesome, come on Deuce, let's go put these guys away and go talk to him."
"Yeah, good idea!"
~ Meanwhile with Yuu ~
"Dang I missed him." Yuu squinted as she wandered around the courtyard. "I know I saw him go this way, but KYA!" She turned and hit a solid wall. She felt herself falling backwards, but felt a pair of arms pull her back up.
"Careful now, miss. You seem to be in a might hurry." An unfamiliar voice pierced her ears, and Yuu's gaze lifted up to see two identical faces staring at her.
"Whoa… pardon me." She stood up straight on her own and took a cautious step back. On closer inspection she saw that they were twins, and were part of the Octavinelle dorm. They were extremely tall too. She was used to being dwarfed by her dorm mates, but these two made her feel even shorter. "Did you happen to see my dorm head pass by? He's a-"
"If you're speaking of Leona-san, then yes. He headed towards the Magic Mirror chamber after his meeting concluded."
"Oh I see… I guess I'll just head back- Geh!" She jumped, and her ears lowered when the other twin crouched to her eye level and got in close. "Erm… can I help you?"
"So tiny…" Floyd grinned wide. "I bet I could fit you in my pocket."
"Mmmph, you'd lose that bet." She let out a little growl and her tail flicked back and forth irritably. "Would you mind backing off? You're too close." She gave him a shove and had him sitting back on his heels. The shove had put a look in his eyes that made her fur stand on end.
"Oooh, this little shrimp's got some bite. I like that…" Floyd grinned wide. "Hey Jade… can I keep her? I wanna give her a good squeeze."
"Squ-" Yuu took another step back as the two flanked her on either side.
"Now, now Floyd, this baby lion seems to already have an owner." Jade reached over gently brushing a finger over the colorful beaded necklace around her neck. "See? She's got a collar."
"Stop talking about me as if I were a pet! I'm no one's pet, and you're both creepy as hell! Back off!" She bared her fangs, growling. Floyd instantly met her stance, his eyes widening as he prepared to leap into an attack.
"That's quite enough!" An authoritative voice called out from behind Yuu. Glancing over all three of them spotted Riddle and Cater stepping into view. "Floyd, Jade, I will not tolerate you bullying this first year!"
"Ah! Goldfish! Long time no see!" His attention diverted, Floyd stood up straight. "Did you wanna play with me and baby shark?"
"Baby-" thoroughly insulted, Yuu got ready to pounce, but Riddle snagged her wrist.
"No, we're leaving, and don't you dare follow us! Let's go, freshman!" Riddle ran, pulling Yuu along with him. Cater brought up the rear, making sure Jade and Floyd weren't pursuing them.
"Aww… there they go."
"Probably for the best, it's nearly time for our shifts at the Mostro Lounge. Let's go Floyd."
"Okaaaay."
~Main Street~
Riddle, Cater, and Yuu finally came to a halt on main street in front of the Great Seven statues. Out of breath, Riddle released Yuu's arm and turned fully towards her.
"My apologies for grabbing you like that, miss. That was awfully rude of me."
"That's alright, you saved me from getting into a fight with those Octavinelle jerks so I owe you one." She smiled and bowed politely. "Thank you, Riddle-senpai."
"Eh? You know my name?" Riddle blinked in confusion.
"Yes… we met briefly when Ace and Deuce invited me over for tarts. Do you remember?"
"Ah, that's right." Riddle crossed his arms. "How odd, I'm usually a lot better at remembering faces, but yours escaped me."
"We weren't formally introduced. My name is Yuuki Emcee, but my friends call me Yuu. It's a pleasure to officially meet you." She held her hand out, and he took it with a surprising yet charming smile.
"The feeling is mutual. I must say you have far superior manners to your dorm mates. It's refreshing to see."
"Oh I can be plenty rude when I wanna be. However I do my best to show respect to my superiors… especially if they can chop my head off." She teased and had Cater chuckling.
"You don't have to worry too much about that, Yuu-chan." Cater pat Riddle on the head. "Things were chaotic for a little while, but we've smoothed them over. Ain't that right, Riddle?"
"Mmmm… we have." Riddle averted their gaze. He didn't want to think about that particular incident.
"Hmm?" At Yuu's look of confusion, Cater waved it off.
"Nothing for you to worry about. At any rate, I'm surprised that you had the guts to stand up to those two like that. Most of the freshmen run away from Jade and Floyd, but you looked ready to fight them tooth and nail."
"A true Savanaclaw student doesn't back down from a challenge." She smirked and crossed her arms. "Besides I may be small, but I'm way stronger than I look. I've been training super hard so I can try out for the Spelldrive team."
"Oh yeah, Ace and Deuce told me you were doing that. You have beefed up some, you're nowhere near as skinny as you were when we first met."
"Ah, that's probably why I didn't recognize you at first. You have changed a great deal in such a short time." Riddle concluded, feeling a bit better about his memory. "Hmmm Spelldrive, huh? How well do you play?"
"Hmm? Oh I don't know yet. Leona-senpai hasn't let me play yet, but I know the rules and have done a few practice matches with him. He says I've got a keen eye and quick feet."
"I see…" Riddle glanced up at Cater who shook his head. "Well I wish you luck with that. If you'll excuse us, Cater and I have some business to attend to."
"Oh, sure." She waved at them. "Thanks again for your help."
"You be careful now, Miss Yuu." Riddle warned her. "Jade and Floyd aside, there are some very seedy characters lingering around." Before Yuu could ask him what sort of seedy characters, the two Heartslabyul members were already walking away. "Hmmm… that was weird. Oh well, guess I better head back to the dorm so I can give Leona his phone."
~ Savanaclaw: Practice Field ~
"Leona asked Yuu out on a date huh?" Jack scowled. "Tch, figures. He's definitely type of guy to take on a direct challenge and play dirty "
"Huh, whaddya mean by that?" Deuce blinked.
"Never mind, I suppose I should thank you guys for intervening." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Though I'm curious as to why you're helping me in the first place."
"Honestly we're doing it for selfish reasons." Ace chuckled. "We like having Yuu around. She's really easy to talk to, smart, playful, and she sticks up for us when others are giving us a hard time. We really wanted her to join Heartslabyul but she ultimately decided to stay with Savanaclaw. We figured if she had to date anyone we'd prefer it be with someone we could get along with."
"You're right, that is selfish." Jack smirked but shrugged. "I appreciate your support, but I really wanna win Yuu's heart on my own."
"You'd forever be the lone wolf if you did everything on your own, Jack-kun" Grim deduced with a cross of his arms. "At least let us share some Intel we have."
"Intel?"
"Nyahaha, I've got the inside scoop on Yuu's life. I read her diary." Grim stated proudly.
"YOU READ HER DIARY?!" All three boys shouted at him causing him to flinch back in surprise.
"What?" He crossed his arms. "Do you want the inside scoop or not?"
"That's an invasion of privacy, Grim." Deuce frowned in disapproval. "Yuu is gonna kill you if she ever finds out."
"What's all this now Jack?!" Inola strutted up with his usual mob. "You hogging these snack-sized trespassers all to yourself?"
"Back off Inola, they're just visiting." Jack scowled.
"You need permission from the boss before you can welcome outsiders to our turf." He circles Ace and Deuce sniffing the air around them. "I knew it... you reek of that half pint female. She's definitely the type to befriend a couple of weaklings like you."
"Who are you calling a weakling, yah punk?" Deuce smacked his fist into his palm.
"Uh oh, Deuce is about to explode."
"don't make.me laugh, weakling." He grabbed Grim by his collar making him wriggle. "Where's your mistress at, furball? She's gotta take responsibility for this."
"Lemme go lemme go lemme go!!!" Grim raked his claws in the air.
"Hey put him down! We don't want any trouble. We'll go." Ace panicked.
"I don't think so… Yuu may be off limits, but Leona didn't say anything about you guys. Imma take all my frustration that the runt has caused me out on her friends." He bounced Grim around like bait on a hook. "Starting with her precious little pet. How would you like to act as our practice disk?"
"WAHHH JACK! YOU GUYS! DO SOMETHING!" Grim wailed and flung out his fire magic, but it bounced off Inola's barrier.
"Grim!" Deuce and Ace were surrounded by the others. Jack stepped in, grabbing Inola's wrist.
"I said knock it off! Don't you dare hurt them!" He snarled and gripped Inola's wrist forcing him to drop Grim. "If you want a fight, then take me on!"
"Gladly!" Inola raised his fist ready to bury it in Jack's face.
A fierce roar echoed throughout the savanna, chilling the bones of all who heard it. The members of Savanaclaw all looked around, expecting to see Leona… but who they found was Yuu.
Inola and his crew immediately relaxed and laughed.
"Well now, look who's here for the show?"
"Alright, that's it. You've crossed a line, pal." Yuu stomped over. "You can mess with me all you want. You can call me names, push me around, and disrespect me all you like… but I will NOT stand by and watch you hurt my friends."
"Come at me then little girl," he gave her a come hither motion. "Give me your best shot."
"Fine I will!"
"No Yuu, don't!" Jack grabbed her before she could step into the fray. "He's just egging you on to get you in trouble."
"Oh, so it's okay for you two big burly men to duke it out but not for me?" She jerked off Jack's hands. "Let go of me!"
"Geez you guys are loud and annoying." Leona called out, stepping into view from inside the dorm. "Are you guys doing this on purpose, or are you just stupid?"
"Leona-senpai…" Inola sweated but kept his back straight. "We were just-"
"If you wanna get expelled for fighting on campus that's your own business, but don't drag all my best players into your pitiful grudge match." Leona snarled at Inola. "You save that kind of aggression for the Spelldrive court."
"Ah… that's right." Yuu smirked and she stepped up toe to toe with Inola. "Let's have this out once and for all. You and me, Spelldrive match. The Loser has to admit defeat on their hands and knees and they're disqualified from tryouts!"
"You can't play Spelldrive one on one, idiot." Inola snorted.
"How about three on three?" She motioned to Ace and Deuce. "Your pack against mine."
"Are you serious? You should have at least put Jack on your team so you'd have a fighting chance." They all laughed again.
"Oh trust me, we're plenty." Yuu crossed her arms.
"Yuu are you nuts?" Ace whispered harshly at her. "You're gonna get us killed."
"Will you just trust me?" She growled at him. "I've got a plan."
"I hope it's a good one…" Ace looked up.at the looming bodies.
"Spelldrive isn't all about muscle and brawn… it's about wit too." Yuu looked at Leona who nodded in approval. "I'm gonna win and finally prove to everyone that I belong here."