FSE

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A/N: This is a story about bad people. Content warning for speciesism and pred supremacy.

This story is set in the Furry Basketball Association Universe.

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Afterwards, people said that it was at half time that things changed.

They were wrong, of course.

For the first half of the 2021 CFIS finals on April 11, Rebekah Huotari was dominant in every play. The TBPC centre came out on the attack on every single possession, driving to the net with aggression that was unusual for the badger. Thunder Bay's confident, focused badger centre was full of a rage that was keeping her moving, keeping her pounding down the court again and again, and leading to her pushing through player after player on her way to the net.

It was a bad thing, though. Maybe if she'd been a bit more cool-headed, she could have made all of those possessions work out for her team. As it was, though, the badger was playing inefficiently. She was turning the ball over far more often than was normal for her, and her shooting was just plain sloppy. On the defence, she fouled plays that she should have known better than to intercept.

The first half of the game was an awkward thing. The crowd in Thunder Bay tried to rally around their team's public face and cheer her on whenever her hands snatched the ball. As the minutes passed, though, their applause grew more intermittent, and their cheers for the shots she did land were more muted.

After half time things were different. Again, though, it's important that we not forget that half time was not when things changed.

No. No it wasn't.

It's possible that things changed on June 3, 2019.

That was the day that Rebekah was training with the rest of the Apex, and somebody came in to speak with Coach Roberto about an interview one of his athletes had given.

Rebekah was at the weight racks, her attention almost entirely focused on maintaining her posture as she slowly rose and then crouched, the muscles in her core and her thighs straining. Last year these gruelling, long workouts had nearly been the death of her. Now the badger was used to it. Her eyes were focused straight ahead, and her breath was coming and going in steady, heavy puffs.

She knew that Serge was somewhere off to the side, growling out his 'encouragement.' Her ears were only picking up the slightest rumble of his voice - she'd long since learned to block out the words. She straightened up, the weight bar pressing down across her shoulders. Rebekah counted out another rep in her mind.

Her ears perked when she heard the door to the training centre open. People generally knew better than to walk in during one of the Apex's training sessions. Rebekah kept on going with her reps, never breaking her steady rhythm. Serge would never let her hear the end of it if she let anything interrupt her. Normally Lauren would have taken some of the attention off of her, but with the skink absent Rebekah couldn't afford any interruptions.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a lynx wearing TBPC colours pad quickly over towards Coach Roberto. The bear had that look on his face that made it look like he was about to take a bite out of whoever he was speaking to. He had been in a foul mood already, ever since he'd noted that Lauren Fash, the team's skink shooting guard, was missing without notice from the practice.

If the lynx was scared, she hid it well. She stepped in close to the coach, and said a few words in a hushed tone. The bear actually blinked in surprise. He exchanged a few sentences with the lynx, the surprise still clear on his face.

Shortly afterwards, he turned to the athletes, and barked out, "Sergio." Rebekah heard Serge's voice stop its growling taunts. Coach Roberto jerked his head in a 'come here' motion, and Serge rushed over. Before the tiger had even reached them, Coach Roberto and the lynx were turning and walking towards the door.

Serge froze in place as he watched the bear heading out, and Rebekah felt several of her teammates tensing or pausing around her. She just let her breath out and crouched down, even as her mind raced. Coach had never left a training session before. He'd once come in while he had the flu to oversee things - a couple team members wound up in bed for days afterwards, but he'd insisted on coming. Watching him leave now was jarring, to say the least.

The lynx headed out the door, and Coach Roberto had one foot out when he paused, and looked back. Seeing Serge just staring after him, the bear's face contorted into a snarl. "Well?"

Serge gave a start, then turned to the rest of the team. His face took on its own snarl as he took in the assembled group, many of whom had paused. "What are you staring at?" His eyes roamed over the group, and he let out a snort. "Even the bird and the badger managed to keep up. Move!"

At once, the rest of the players went back to their exercises. There was a loud click as the door shut, and Serge stood up straighter, arms crossed over his broad chest. The tiger looked out over the team, eyes narrowed as he glared at each player in turn.

It took all of Rebekah's willpower not to roll her eyes. She knew that he would see it and make her suffer for it, but she really didn't care. Give Serge the smallest bit of authority...

The workout wound on. It was while Rebekah was doing some running drills that she saw Serge finally crack. The tiger reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him flick through a few pages, and then his eyes widened noticeably. Not long after, he called over one of the other senior players.

Soon enough, all of the team's graduating players were gathered around Serge and his phone. They were all speaking in hushed, aggressive whispers while the remainder of the team continued their workouts. Rebekah considered saying something, but she knew better. All of the players in that circle had made her life hell more than once over the past couple years. Instead she focused on her breathing, and on pushing back the aching soreness in her body.

When the workout session finally ended, Serge dismissed all of the other players absent-mindedly. Rebekah watched as the others filed out, all of them exhausted and confused about the strange workout. Rebekah started towards the door, but she hesitated when she noticed that all of the graduating team members were still gathered around Serge.

Rebekah stared at the group for a long few moments, considering. She set her gaze, and walked back over towards them.

Maybe that was the moment that things changed.

Serge was speaking louder now. "Look, I am not ending my time as the captain of the Apex like this. If we don't send a message, then that sends a message, alright?"

"People are going to notice." Another player, a lean wolf, replied. She pointed at Serge's phone. "Look, I'm as pissed as anybody else, but doing it tonight's just fucking stupid."

"So what, we just let her do whatever she wants?" Serge snarled back. The tiger's face was contorted, and the wolf drew back a step. "That's not the way it works. We let her be here. She got a free pass so long as she was useful. Now, though? Fuck that, now we send a message right back."

"What happened?"

The group started, then turned to stare at the badger. They all looked surprised to see her standing there. As their eyes settled on her, though, Rebekah drew herself up to her full height. She was taller and had more bulk than most of the group there, but fuck she was tired from the workout. Her curiosity, as it often did, was winning out over her knowledge that they would make her feel this interruption later.

Serge responded after a few seconds. "Fuck's sake, Huotari, learn to keep your mouth shut for once. Clear out. It doesn't concern you."

Rebekah stood her ground. Her eyes wandered over her teammates, taking each one in. They were all showing their aggression openly after her interruption. She racked her brain for what could be getting them this upset, and what could have pulled Coach Roberto away from practice.

She blinked, and then raised an eyebrow. "Fash." It was impossible to miss the look that passed through the assembled group. "What did she do?"

Serge kept his arms crossed, squaring off with the badger. "Not your concern."

"Oh come on, Serge." The wolf from before rolled her eyes. Serge shot her a glare, and she almost pulled back again. She managed to keep speaking. "All of campus is probably already talking about it."

Serge looked like he wanted to tear her throat out, but at length he just let out a small growl and tossed the phone towards Rebekah. She caught it, and glanced at the screen. It was a CBC article, with a link to an audio interview. The headline said, "Lauren Fash slams TBPC in damning interview, declares for FBA draft."

Rebekah blinked, and her eyes scanned over the few details that the article provided. By the time she looked up, the others were all speaking again.

"What are you even thinking?"

"We've got claws. Figure it out."

"We're not fucking lynching her."

"Well then send her some kind of message. Clawmarks on a front door can say a fucking lot."

"They'd have us in jail by tomorrow morning."

"That's why it's us." Serge snorted. "We're seniors, and the season's over. It doesn't cost the Apex anything."

"The fucking Apex?" the wolf laughed. "Fuck, dude, it's a college basketball team. I'm more worried about trying to get a job with a permanent record."

Serge was about to lunge at the wolf. Rebekah could feel it, and from the looks of it the wolf could, too. More than once they'd all seen teammates come into practices with gashes after pissing the tiger off. It was in that awful moment of silence where everybody was waiting for the tiger to launch himself that Rebekah spoke.

"Claw marks are too obvious."

Both the tiger and the wolf turned to stare at her. A breath later, Rebekah realized that the entire assembled group was staring, too. She felt her breath leave her, but only for a moment. Then she powered on.

"You leave claw marks on her door, people will see you, and you make it obvious what you're saying. That's what gets you in trouble. Be subtle."

"We don't want 'subtle,' badger." Serge almost spat the word. Rebekah met his gaze. She couldn't keep her eyes from flicking down towards his claws, which were fully unsheathed. For a very long moment, she wondered whether she could use her bulk to just push him back if he came at her. She'd seen how he moved on the court, though - the speed and precision. She didn't want to test that.

"What are you thinking?" It was the wolf. Rebekah tore her gaze away from Serge's claws, and instead focused on the wolf. "You have another idea?"

Rebekah did have an idea. She told them.

Everybody was quiet after she finished. Serge was the first to speak.

"It's not personal enough," he growled. "I want her to feel afraid. Feel it where she lives."

"You think this won't?" Rebekah demanded. She was still conscious of the tiger wanting to lunge at her, but she had the others' attention now. That might be enough to keep him from doing anything. She went on. "Look, it's Thunder Bay. It's not a huge city. If people want to, they'll find where she lives. She'll feel it."

"It doesn't deal with the problem that people will see us," the wolf said, rolling her eyes. "You had me impressed for a second there, Huotari."

"So what if people see you?" Rebekah responded. The wolf opened her mouth to answer, but Rebekah barrelled on. "They won't care. Anybody that sees you do it is either going to cheer you on, or they'll make it their business to forget what they saw. Let's say somebody did call the cops - it's not like there's anything they could do. Minor vandalism at best. It's just words, right?"

The wolf closed her mouth, and looked thoughtful for a few moments.

Rebekah looked around the assembled group. She considered pushing things further, but another look at Serge changed her mind. The tiger was clearly considering it, but his claws were still out. Best not to risk going over the edge.

She shrugged, then said, "Your call, though. Like you said, it's not my business." With that, she turned and walked out of the training room. She took a quick shower in the locker room, got changed into her street clothes, and stepped outside. It was already dark as she started walking across the campus towards the parking lot. She only paused once, to glance back over her shoulder at the athletics centre.

Hanging on the side of the building was an enormous, banner-size poster. The poster showed blown up pictures of the Apex basketball team's starting line. Even though he was the captain, Serge's picture didn't get the centre position. Instead it was Lauren, her enormous face gazing out across the campus.

Rebekah raised her hand in a small wave to the skink's picture, then turned and kept walking towards the parking lot.

By the next morning, there would be red paint splattered across the banner. It said in sloppy, dripping letters, "OPEN SEASON" across Lauren Fash's blown up face. For some reason, the administration couldn't find anybody to take the defaced banner down until the next evening.

But then again, maybe that wasn't when things changed.

Back to the 2021 CFIS finals on April 11.

Rebekah was playing with aggression for that first half. It wasn't just that she was being aggressive - it was that anger and rage were fuelling her movements.

It wasn't entirely unheard of for her to play like that. Sure, Rebekah was generally a carefully controlled and disciplined player, but every now and again something else would come over her during games. It seemed to be on command - sometimes a game just needed somebody to unleash their snarling, aggressive side. Rebekah could do that. If an opposing team's defence was too much and TBPC needed to wear them down, Rebekah was the one that would start throwing her weight around and giving steely, cold glares. If an opposing player was playing dirty, she was the one that could put them in their place while the refs weren't watching. If an opposing player was on a scoring streak, she was the one that would put them on the ground.

When Rebekah needed to, she could bring out the brutality.

In light of that, it's possible that things actually changed on April 3rd, 2020.

That was the night that the Thunder Bay Predator College were celebrating the Apex's 2020 CFIS championship win at a luxurious cabin out by the lake.

"Four championships! Four fucking championships!" Rebekah roared, and the assembled party roared back at the badger. "That's the record! That's what Thunder-fuckin' Bay has to its name. That's why we push, that's why the weak can't hack it here, that's our fuckin' Apex heritage! And next year? Next year we make it five!"

She raised her drink up into the air, and the crowd around her roared in approval. She kept her head lowered and her eyes clenched shut, a small grin creeping across her muzzle. She had them. She fucking owned every person in the room at the moment. She could say whatever she wanted, and they would do it. The roar of energy and power around her filled her up.

As the cheering died down, a few people walked forward to slap her on the back. She lowered her drink and opened her eyes to start greeting them, sliding her practiced casual smile back onto her face. She accepted the compliments on her speech, on the win, on a million different things. She responded in kind, always extending compliments back.

Her eyes roamed over the party as she traded words. She made a mental note of every face she saw. There were a few faces she didn't see, and she noted those, too. Jasmine Durand, for one. Not that it was a surprise - Jasmine had never been good about hiding her dislike of the rest of the team. The rest of the team, naturally, extended the same courtesy to her.

Other missing faces were a bit more surprising, and Rebekah soon noticed a pattern in who wasn't there. It brought a cool undertone to her enthusiasm. She kept it from showing in her casual conversation with the other people at her party, but her mind was thinking, calculating.

Once she had the chance, she split off from her current group and headed to the kitchen. She dumped out her beer and dropped the cup into the garbage, then rooted through the cupboards until she found a tumbler glass. Then she turned, and made her way through the building. She passed through a couple more groups of people that were conversing, always pausing just long enough to laugh at a joke or express interest in whatever they were discussing.

Soon enough, she'd slipped through a door into a smaller room with a few other people in it. At the back of this room, there was a door with a bulky hawk and orca standing out front. They were wearing casual clothes, and you could almost mistake them for being just a couple more university students reclining by a door at a party. Rebekah knew better.

As she approached them, the orca glanced up, and visibly tensed. He opened his mouth to speak, but Rebekah snorted and muttered, "I'm on the guest list."

"Like shit."

"You going to stop me?" She hadn't slowed in her steps. She cast a look over at the orca, then back over to the hawk as she stepped between them. They were big, probably more muscular than her, but she had over a half foot on the tallest of the pair. Rebekah could feel both of them tensing, trying to decide what to do. She didn't hesitate, though. She opened the door they were 'guarding', and stepped through without breaking her stride.

It led her into a small room on the back of the cabin. The temperature dropped immediately as she stepped in, and the slightly stuffy smell of alcohol and partying students fell away. To her right was a heavy door leading outside, and there were still bits of snow around the floor by it. Directly in front of her as a large, heavy wooden door.

Rebekah glanced around. There were a few sets of clothes folded up on a shelf. Next to them was a decanter, half full of scotch. She walked over and stripped down to the swimsuit she was wearing underneath. She'd made the decision as soon as the party was announced that she was inviting herself into the 'exclusive' section.

She folded her clothes and placed them on the shelf. Then she picked up the tumbler glass she'd grabbed earlier, and poured herself a finger of the scotch. She let herself take one sip, and the smoky, burning flavour filled her mouth. She swallowed and took a deep breath.

She walked over to the wooden door, and yanked it open before she could give herself a chance to hesitate.

The door swung easily despite the weight, and a wall of humid heat rolled out at her. The conversation in the sauna stopped immediately, and she stepped inside, letting the door slowly close behind her.

She cast her gaze around. The walls of the room were all cedar planks, with two levels of cedar benches set around the edges. In the middle of the room there was a pile of heated rocks, with a bucket of water right next to it. Seated on the benches were various other furs - about half a dozen preds. Rebekah immediately picked out the TBPC student union president, a snake with emerald green scales that gleamed in the humidity. There was also the captains of the hockey and football teams, all of them looking over at her in surprise in their swimsuits.

Sitting directly opposite of the door, and now looking at her with a raised eyebrow, was Serge. The tiger was reclining on the bench, his broad orange and black stripes stretched tight over his muscles. Serge had put on a little weight since he'd graduated TBPC and left its basketball team, but he still had all of that energy of tightly coiled violence etched into his body. He had been the one speaking when Rebekah had walked in. He was also the first person whose surprise fell away, as he leaned forward.

"Huotari. One of our victorious Apex. Lovely to see you."

"Serge," she nodded. She didn't move to take a seat. "We were just celebrating out there. I was surprised to not see our host out at the party."

"Well you know how it is." The tiger made a vague gesture at the other gathered furs. "We were just walking. I like to keep in touch with all of the important goings on at the school."

"Right, right," she inclined her head. She paused to take another sip of scotch. She didn't miss Serge's eyes flickering at that - she figured her helping herself would bother him. She swallowed down her drink, and then gave a small shrug. "It's weird. Most people graduate from school and, well, leave the school." She slipped the smallest smile onto her face. "I hear some of them even get jobs to fill all their spare time."

The room was very quiet. Serge's face was a blank mask for a long few seconds. Then it cracked into the same small smile Rebekah was wearing. "The Apex are important to me, Huotari. I couldn't just leave them unattended, directionless..."

"To win our first championship since..." Rebekah reached up to tap at her chin, thinking. "Since before you joined the team, now that I think about it."

Serge let out a breath through his nose. He didn't quite snarl, but it was close. He looked like he was about to respond, but the student council president beat him to it.

"Rebekah. Please, take a seat and join us." The snake gave her a broad smile, and gestured to a free space on the bench next to her. "We were just talking about the Apex basketball team, actually."

Rebekah took the seat. The energy slowly grew less tense. There was a lot of conversation - mostly about the changes that had been happening at the school over the course of the year. After Lauren Fash's interview the previous spring, the faculty had been scrambling to crush anything that would come off as too obviously pred supremacist. There were rumours that a few dozen more prey students had gotten late acceptance to various programs over the summer. During the school year itself, there had been not-too-subtle hints that fraternities and sororities had to scale back their hazing rituals, or at the very least cover them up better. Rebekah had even heard that a few faculty members and staff on sports teams were being rotated out of their positions. They were all people that Rebekah had heard her fair share of rumours about over her years at the school, including Coach Roberto. She had been told to expect to see less of him next year, and that he would be moving into a more administrative role that would be less directly connected to the school and the team.

The conversation in the sauna was mostly aggressive. Rebekah sat back and only contributed in small nods or acknowledgements. She was taking in everything that everybody said, though. Serge was glaring at her whenever he wasn't raising his voice and telling them how they ought to be dealing with the problem.

The student union president was saying less than just about anybody other than Rebekah. She was asking prompting questions, pushing people to elaborate. After a while, she turned to look at the badger, and raised an eyeridge.

"Rebekah. The night's really about celebrating the basketball team. How have you found it, having some higher profile prey members on your team?"

Serge spoke sharply. "Fash was a nightmare to work with. Durand was a little shit, too, if I remember correctly."

Rebekah sipped at her scotch, and waited for Serge to finish. The snake had her eyes fixed on Rebekah - her gaze hadn't turned to Serge even while the tiger was speaking. Rebekah held in her grin, and gave a lazy shrug.

"It's been fine enough. Obviously we've done pretty well with them on our team, the past two years." She could see that Serge wanted to break in here, but she didn't give him the chance. "Look, it's really quite easy. They're helpful. You can't question that. So why not use them? I'm sure both of them were clear on where they stood in the team. They were on the roster, and they helped. Were they ever really welcome? Was there any illusion of them having any control?" Rebekah snorted at the idea.

"And you're not nervous about that coming back on you and the rest of the team?"

"No. Well," she inclined her head, "I think there are a few members of the team who didn't have the subtlety to handle the situation well. What's important is that you don't actually give them anything to go off of. Make it clear what the situation is, but vague enough that you can claim people are reading things into it. All the while, make them feel like they're backed into a corner and waiting for the claw to drop." Rebekah shrugged. "It's pretty easy, really."

The snake nodded, and took a sip of her own drink. Rebekah could feel Serge's eyes boring into her.

After a few more minutes of conversation, the captain of the hockey team stood up. "Well, I've warmed up enough. We were going to do a polar dip. Care to join us, Huotari?"

Out of the corner of her eyes, Rebekah saw Serge's eyes flick up towards her. She gave a nod. "Gladly."

She stood up. The sports captains rose with her, along with Serge. The student union president remained firmly where she was while the four of them stepped out of the sauna and back into the small room. The humidity fell away with the heat, and they all took a few deep breaths. They gathered by the door that led outside, each of them placing their glasses on a small table.

Rebekah let her eyes wander over to Serge. He was glaring at her whenever he thought she wasn't looking. He couldn't have been more obvious if he was actually sharpening his claws.

She clenched her jaw, and prepared herself.

The football captain pushed the door open, out into the dark and snow. The heat fled the room, and cold rushed in like a wall. All four of them took off at a run out into the night. Rebekah's lungs immediately burned with the cold, and her feet lit up with sharp stabs of cold with each step. There was a full moon, and it gave them enough light to see the shovelled path ahead of them. It led out from the back door of the cabin, onto the ice of the frozen lake. Above her heavy breaths, Rebekah could hear the sounds of the party behind her. They were muted by the whistling wind, and they grew dimmer as they rushed into the silence of the night.

All four ran out across the surface of the lake, more or less keeping pace with each other. Beside her the football captain led out a laughing, "Fuck!" at the cold. Rebekah lowered her head as they rushed towards a carefully cut hole in the ice that had filled in with frigid water. She put on speed, cold wind rushing over and through her thick fur.

Rebekah reached the hole ahead of the others. She leapt, and her breath left her as she hit the water. The cold was like a punch in the gut. There was a long moment when all of her muscles locked up, and she couldn't force them to move. All of her nerves were lighting up at once, the overstimulation of the cold forcing a sharp, barking, "Shit!" out past her clenched jaw. Fortunately the water was only deep enough to come up to her chest, so she was in no real danger of drowning.

The water splashed behind her as one of others leapt in. She forced her body to take a deep breath, then moved towards the edge. She pulled herself up onto the ledge as the hockey captain ran by. That was two people. The wind sliced through her wet fur, driving the cold deep into her veins. She remained crouched after getting out of the water, but she looked up out of the edge of her vision. The only one not in the water yet was Serge. He was running slower than he probably could, and was still a few steps back. His orange and black fur gleamed under the moonlight, the white patches almost glowing. She could easily see those powerful muscles, the tension lashing through his tail, the glint of his unsheathed claws as he approached.

Rebekah took a deep breath.

A couple steps before he would have reached the water, he turned abruptly, the claws on his feet digging into the ice to give him purchase. Instead he lunged at her, fangs and claws gleaming in the light. A roar ripped from his throat, rolling over the crouching badger.

Rebekah waited until he was on top of her, and then lunged. She went from crouching to standing in a fluid motion, all of her cold and stiff muscles screaming as one. His eyes widened as her hands slid in and grabbed his forearms, clenching down like vices. He tried to angle his paws to get at the black fur along her arms, but she squeezed harder and forced them out.

She rose up to her full height, and his roar turned into a startled yowl as she lifted him clear up and off of the ice. For a split second that stretched out, she just held him up, her blunt claws digging into his orange fur and her muscles all bulging with the effort. Steam was rising off of her fur and muscles, and her face contorted into its own snarl of rage. Their eyes met, and she drank in his shock, his fear.

Maybe that was the moment that things changed.

The badger leaned forward, and drove the tiger back and down. The badger threw her weight into the movement, her muscles screaming in the cold and the exertion. The tiger's yowl cut out into a wheeze as she slammed his back into the hard ice, and his head lolled back over the edge of the hole in the ice. Her full weight came down a moment later, her knees pressing against his stomach and her hands still pressing his arms against the ice.

The badger brought her face down, letting out her own roaring bark. With the tiger's head tilted back, his throat was exposed. Her powerful jaw came down, and then stopped abruptly just shy of his quivering Adam's apple.

Rebekah stopped then, holding that position. Serge's eyes were wide and wild. He tried to look down at her, but her snout inches from his throat kept him from bringing his head back forward. Noise returned slowly to them - the distant sounds of the party, the whistling of the wind, and the gentle splashing in the pool of water as the captains of the hockey and football teams watched on.

Rebekah drank in the silence and the stares from the two captains, as well as Serge's heavy breaths and tensing muscles. She waited just long enough for the silence to get uncomfortable, and then spoke.

"You're washed up, Serge. I thought you were all about that Apex lifestyle?"

She paused to give him a chance to answer. He didn't. She continued.

"Thanks for hosting the party tonight. Your dad's camp is really nice. I think TBPC's moved past needing your help, though. Got it?"

Again, he was quiet. She took a deep breath, then forced her voice out in another roaring bark.

"Got it?"

"Yes."

She held her position for a few moments longer. Then she stood up. The football and hockey captains were still in the water, staring at her. She gave them a curt nod.

"You guys should get out soon. Your fur's going blue."

She turned, and walked at a steady, casual pace back towards the cabin. She didn't hear the other two getting out of the water, or Serge getting up. As her adrenaline began to peter out, the wind and the cold began digging into her again. She fought the desire to shiver or run through the door.

Rebekah stepped back in through the back door of the cabin, and closed it behind her. She took a couple deep breaths, then fetched a towel. She calmly wiped her fur dry, then tugged her clothes back on over her swimsuit. She picked up her tumbler glass, and refilled it up to two fingers with Serge's scotch.

She took a long, slow sip. Then she turned and walked back into the party. Back into her party.

Or maybe that wasn't when things changed, either.

During halftime on April 11, 2021 was when Rebekah was able to clear her head. People could see it on the court - one of the badger's biggest assets was her ability to effectively use her teammates. She knew when to take up space so that Zuri Varne, TBPC's shooting guard, could rip through the opposing team's scattered defence. She knew when to draw attention to give Kira Yamashita, their arctic fox point guard, the space to sink an easy 3.

She knew when to step in, and she knew when and how to use her teammates. For some reason, for the first half of that crucial game, she seemed to have forgotten.

After halftime, the rage that had powered her playing for the first half of the game seemed to have given way to her usual smart plays.

The question everybody asked was why she'd forgotten in the first place.

So things might have changed one day earlier, on April 10, 2021.

The intense cold of Thunder Bay's winter had started breaking by then. It was still icy, people were able to go out without fully covering up any exposed skin or fur without risk of frostbite. As such, Rebekah was in her lighter winter coat as she smiled for the camera, standing out in front of Stripes Lounge and Bar.

"Well whoever wins tomorrow, I know that this is where I'll be coming to party and celebrate," she said, her voice light. "Really, my favourite part of this week has been sharing all of the small, local businesses with my fellow athletes from across the country. It's been great partnering up with the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce to promote and support our local businesses, and to welcome the best young basketball players in Canada."

The reporter, a young-ish marten in a parka and a gelled haircut, gave a small laugh and said, "Well, it's been wonderful checking in with you over the past week for this exciting tournament. How do you feel about your team's chances?"

"All of the teams here have been amazing. I think this year has seen the best competition out of any CFIS tournament - definitely the best I've seen. Whoever wins, they'll have earned it." She paused for one moment, then inclined her head. "But you know. We call ourselves the Apex for a reason."

The marten laughed. "Thanks for that, Rebekah. Well, for TBN, this is Dennis Mackie signing off."

Rebekah hung around and chatted with Dennis and his cameraman for a few minutes. She'd been meeting up with them for media spots around Thunder Bay for the whole week, always featuring another local business. Rebekah had been afraid that she would get bored of the constant inane conversations, but she'd found it surprisingly easy to slip into a cheerful 'media persona' in front of the camera.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed somebody waving to her through the club's windows. She glanced over, and her eyes narrowed on the tiger who was staring at her through the window, just beneath the stylized 'S T R I P E S.'

She excused herself from the reporter, and headed through the doors of the nightclub. It was bizarre being in there during the day - natural light was coming in through the windows, and the floor empty. A couple employees were wandering around, doing normal maintenance that could only get done during the day.

Rebekah unzipped her coat. Underneath, she was wearing a grey and gold TBPC Athletics t-shirt. She stomped her boots to get the snow off, and then walked through the club until she reached that window she'd noticed outside. Serge was still waiting for her. The tiger had put on a bit more weight, but he still had all that muscle. He looked more like he played football than basketball now. He was dressed in an immaculately tailored red button-up and black slacks, with a matching black blazer hanging on the back of a chair next to him.

"Good media spot?" he asked as she approached.

"You'll get some good business tomorrow night. Don't you worry, Serge."

"Sergio," he corrected. Rebekah rolled her eyes as he continued. "I hope you've enjoyed your moment in the spotlight. In a couple days it's back to irrelevant for you."

Rebekah raised an eyebrow at him. With his added weight, he had a bit more bulk to him than her now, but she still had a good half foot on him. "Irrelevant? Please. Unlike some people, I don't need to worry about media digging up any of my old tweets or whatever. I've actually got a shot to make it in the FBA."

He let out a snort. "You think so? After your performance?"

"Pity? You've noticed we're in the finals, right?"

"After blowing the Ontario division and getting in on the hosting city's seed." The tiger snorted. "Besides, aside from your little media spots, nobody's talking about you. You've been asleep on the court."

Rebekah opened her mouth to snap back, but stopped. He was trying to bait her. She narrowed her gaze, and instead muttered, "I've bought my ticket to the league at this point. We both know it. I'm not going to have to fall back on daddy's money to buy me a trashy nightclub."

Serge's gaze hardened. She saw his claws starting to unsheathe. His voice was a growl as he spoke. "You better hope so. What's your fall-back plan? Follow in your family's footsteps and get into small-scale politics in a dying mining town?"

"I'll find my way." She forced herself to take a couple deep breaths. "Look, Serge-"

"Sergio."

"Whatever."

"Not whatever. Sergio." His voice had that growl again. That said, there was a grin playing at the edge of his muzzle. "You haven't figured it out yet, have you?"

Rebekah opened her mouth to reply, but stopped herself. There was something about the look on his face - something knowing. At length she rolled her eyes. "You still think you're relevant, don't you?"

"Oh no." The tiger laughed, and then turned and walked by Rebekah. She turned to follow him as he stepped into the middle of the club's dancefloor. He made a wide gesture around at the space. "You know, you gave me some good advice last year. You were right. Trying to keep my fingers in the TBPC pot was dumb. Aiming too low."

"So your solution is a corny suit and a trashy night club?"

"My solution was getting myself into the chamber of commerce." He glanced back at her, and raised an eyebrow. "My solution was getting close with the people that actually have power and control this city."

Rebekah kept eying him. Her hands were in the pockets of her coat now as she listened. "You're starting to sound like a shitty movie, Serge."

He turned to face her squarely now, glaring. Everything was quiet for a long few seconds as they sized each other up. At length, he sighed and stretched in an exaggerated motion.

"Do you know what people in this city think about you?" He pushed on before she could reply. "Oh, sure, you've fooled a bunch of the prey sympathizers with the whole enthusiasm and sunshine act. Maybe the younger preds like your methods. The older ones, though? The ones that actually matter?" He laughed. "They think you're a joke, Rebekah."

"Bullshit."

"You scraped by into the CFIS tournament on luck after losing in the first round of the Ontario tournament." His voice was flat. "You've been boring at best on the court for the tournament, which are the games that everybody's been watching. You've drawn their attention by making yourself TBPC's face, but that's only drawn more attention to how forgettable you are."

Rebekah was quiet. She kept glaring at him, but now she couldn't think up a reply. She watched as he walked over towards the bar. He stepped around the back, and grabbed a glass off of the shelf. He turned to the back shelf, and ran his finger along the bottles.

"I should thank you. TBPC's done remarkably well with you around. It's raised TBPC's profile. And the chamber is deeply appreciative of all your work to promote us for the tournament." His finger stopped on a bottle of whiskey, and he pulled it down from the shelf. He poured himself a single finger before slipping it back onto the shelf. He turned to face her, and took a long sip. "Here's the thing, Rebekah. After tomorrow, you're done with the Apex. No more games, no more chance to make a name for yourself. After that, you stop mattering. Trust me, I rode out that wave. But here's the thing - when people think back to when I was leading the Apex, they remember me. They remember the flashy tiger. They don't think about the team. After you graduate, they're going to think about what a good run TBPC had for a few years. Semi-finalists, then champions, then at least finalists." He shrugged. "Who's going to remember the drab and boring badger, though?"

He downed the glass. Her blunt claws were almost digging into her palms from how hard she was clenching her fists.

Maybe that was the moment that things changed.

He placed the glass on the bar, and left it there - no doubt for one of his staff to clean. He stepped back around the bar, and started walking towards the back of the club.

"I've got business to take care of. Best of luck tomorrow, Rebekah. It's your last shot. And if you know what's good for you, it's Sergio."

He stepped through a door in the back of the club. The door swung slowly shut behind him. Rebekah was still glaring after him, standing in the middle of the empty dance floor.

So yeah.

Afterwards, people said that it was at half time that things changed. They were wrong. It's possible that around halftime was when things started to change back.

They also said that in the end, the change at half time wasn't enough. On that point, they weren't wrong.