The Hard Life and Mentoring

He was waiting for her by the front door after the last bell. She thought it was nice not being the first to arrive this time, and fell in step behind him as naturally as if they'd been doing this for years. "How was your first day back?" she asked politely.

"I have a fuck-ton of make-up work," he growled, his words almost lost in the breezy afternoon air, "Not that it'll save my grades, but Nayeli's going to be watching me like a hawk over a rabbit while I do it." He kicked a mailbox as they passed it to vent his frustration...and Sarahi stared, a little impressed, at the dent he left in it, rethinking that last thing she said she wanted to do with him. "And I can't even start until after my mentoring session, so this evening is a fucking bust."

She frowned at him and his language again. "Do you know who you're mentoring with?"

"No," the Rabbit answered honestly, "Mrs. Hope just gave me an address and said to go there. She did print out directions from the school, so I'll head back there to start after I drop you off."

Sarahi smirked. "We should walk faster, then. You don't want to be late on your first day."

"Like I care," Oro rolled his eyes.

"Hey," the Sha'khari frowned again, "Could you take it a little seriously? I know it may not sound like much, but there is a letter on file now, directly from the mayor, asking the judge to be lenient with you. So it'll reflect badly if you don't--"

A scratchy sound started approaching along the sidewalk behind them, warning them of an upcoming gust. Sarahi almost didn't think fast enough, and the wind hit them before she'd quite turned to face it, flipping the back half of her skirt aside and flashing the large, white-with-green-polka-dots pattern of her panties to the street. Oro reflexively caught the edge of the cloth as it flapped up next to his face, and yanked it back down to a more modest height as Sarahi backed against him. The pair quickly skittered over to a spot where she could place her rump against a news box, pinning her skirt down until the wind subsided.

"Sorry. Thanks," she said shortly, swinging her backpack off her shoulder and fishing around for something inside it, "I really hate my dresses sometimes."

Oro crossed his arms over his chest, tapping his foot impatiently while she looked for something he couldn't imagine inside her bag. "Why do you wear them, then? Nothing personal, but the underwear looks ridiculous."

"Ergh! I know!" she winced, "And uncomfortable, to-boot, but going commando is even riskier."

"Again: why?" he repeated, and she was surprised to hear him sound genuinely confused.

"Uh, the same reason you can't wander down the street pants-less?" she rolled her eyes, pulling a couple of small elastic rings attached to weighted bells out of the front pocket of her pack.

His expression said he was anything but convinced. "I'm not saying you're an animal, but that half is no different from that guy over there," he pointed out a feral cat stalking along beneath some bushes, "It's perfectly legal for him, and no one's getting turned on by that."

She was trying to twist around to where she could reach her own tail...a position that was awkward at best, and always undignified. She stopped and gave him a stunned stare as he explained his reasoning for why she should consider going skirt-less. Sarahi really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, and think he was just very practical and open-minded...but she couldn't help feeling a little insulted. If she wasn't half on the ground at the moment, she probably would have slapped him.

With a huff, she stood back up and offered him the elastic straps. "Would...you mind?" She demonstrated how to attach the weights by twisting the loop and pulling a little of the leading hem through it, then patiently waited for him to attach the four weights near her back legs. Satisfied that she wouldn't be surprised by any more breezes, they resumed walking. "Thank you. And thanks for being...supportive, I think?...but no, I would be too embarrassed even if that was legal."

The Rabbit just rolled his eyes. "Ever consider pants, then?"

"And you thought the panties look ridiculous," she rolled her eyes right back at him. "Have you even tried to imagine what it looks like to have a shirt come down to here," she drew a finger across the transition between her upper torso and her bestial shoulders, "Pants come up to here," she turned to draw another line across her back just in front of her haunches, "And all this 'bare midriff' with extra legs just sticking out in the middle? They don't make pants for this body-type, and even the ones that fit my haunches bunch up and rub the fur in all the wrong ways. It's even less comfortable than the skirts."

Oro sighed in defeat, genuinely sympathetic for once. "Fine. Your life is hard. Suck it up," he finished firmly, as if she shouldn't expect life to be any other way...and that made her giggle. He was tactless, brutal, and an overall jerk...but she admired the way he faced reality, with all its injustices, without excuse. Her life was hard, at least in certain ways. She had to deal with that. That's all there was to it. And he accepted that. It was encouraging to her.

They reached the head of her street not long after, and Sarahi gave him a little wave as she started trotting off down the turn. "You'd better hurry," she called back to him, "Remember, I'll be mad if you're late!"

"Whatever," the rebellious Rabbit huffed, turning back toward the school. He pulled the directions Mrs. Hope had printed out of his pocket to start looking them over on the way, just in case he could take a shortcut to one side without having to go all the way back. Oro began looking around himself after reading the first few steps, of which there were relatively few. He stopped walking, and checked the road signs again...then turned back around and went back to where he and Sarahi had parted ways. He stopped again right there, checking the road name and his directions twice. "The fuck?" he quirked a brow as he started down the sidewalk in the same direction she had gone, "She's really going to think I'm following her now."

Memorizing the house number, he stuffed the directions back in his pocket and began counting mailboxes. He quickened his pace, nervous for reasons he couldn't quite explain...and scowled when he saw Sarahi sitting beside one driveway, waiting patiently with a smug smile on her face. "Hey!" she waved as he approached, "You figured it out faster than I expected. I was worried you'd go all the way back to the school."

"Are you fucking with me?" Oro growled, even as she tapped the little plate on the decorative fence around the yard, bearing a house number that matched his directions.

"If we ever do, I'll be the top," she retorted...then gasped and covered her own mouth as soon as the words were out of it. "I can't believe I said that. Sorry," she whispered, worried his aggression was beginning to rub off on her.

He waved her off, stomping passed her toward the door. "Shut up. Good comebacks are pointless if you apologize afterward," he growled. He didn't even wait for her to catch up before marching up the steps and ringing the bell beside the door.

It was answered almost immediately by a large Lion in slacks, a crisply pressed button-down shirt, and tie. His frown was every bit a match for the young Rabbit standing on the other side of the mesh from him, though it angled down from almost twice Oro's height. They spent a full three seconds scowling at each other before her father opened the screen door. "You must be Oro," he growled.

"Mr. Swordbright," Oro declared rather than asked, in a similar tone, as Sarahi strolled up next to him.

The big Lion stepped aside to let her slip through, while making it clear with his eyes that Oro should not attempt the same. "I can already tell I'm not going to like you," Mr. Swordbright declared, stepping fully onto the porch.

Before he could say anything else, Sarahi called back from inside, "He's my friend, Dad. Give him a chance."

"I could tell I didn't like you before I saw you," Oro answered, looking almost straight up at the Lion. He refused to so much as take a step back.

"And Oro, behave!" Sarahi added from further inside, probably more from knowing his attitude than having actually heard his answer.

Her father took a deep breath, then gestured toward the steps. "The lawn mower's around here," he declared, marching passed the smaller Rabbit and leading the way around the house toward a little garden shed in the back yard. Oro dropped his backpack by the door and followed, noting the unkempt height of the grass as they went.

"Doesn't look like you particularly care about yardwork," he remarked.

Mr. Swordbright hefted up the door to the shed with one hand. "Well you're wrong. That's why we're doing this today," he indicated the riding mower with the hood lifted and a few wrenches on the table beside it, "First we have to fix it. Then you can mow the lawn." Stepping between the Rabbit and the lawnmower, the big Lion made sure he had Oro's attention before he continued. "I agreed to be your mentor," he explained in a low growl, "Because you helped my daughter, and she called you her friend, and she asked me to help you out. She's never brought a friend home before. Now, normally I would be elated by this opportunity...but I am well aware of your record, and your history, and I am not impressed. I'm giving you a chance to change my mind." He leaned down eye-to-eye with the smaller male. "But mark my words: if you so much as think of making any trouble for her--"

"Fuck off," Oro answered with an instinctive venom, "I didn't help her: I beat down her bullies because I fucking hate them. She's been following me around ever since. I've got no beef with her, I've got no reason to make trouble for her, and I've got no reason to spend another fucking minute with her except to piss you off."

The larger adult didn't so much as blink. "Clean up that mouth. I'm not impressed, and I'm no fool. Now I'm going to go change into something I can soak in motor oil, and you'd better still be here and ready to work when I get back, or never let another soul see you on the same block as my daughter again."

Oro gnashed his teeth as the Lion crossed the wide yard again and went into the house...then kicked the lawnmower so hard it rocked up on two wheels and nearly tipped on its side. "Fuck that guy," he hissed to himself, dragging the miniature vehicle out into the sunlight and hunching over the engine to glance over all the bolts and belts he could find.

Sarahi's father came back in jeans that had clearly seen many a job of this nature already, and a dark tee-shirt that would hide all the but the worst of stains. He was pleasantly surprised to find Oro still in the yard, wrench in hand and tightening something down. "Found the problem already?" the Lion grunted, offering him an old (and very over-sized for the Rabbit) shirt to wear instead of his school clothes.

"Hell if I'd know," Oro grunted, ignoring the offered shirt. He figured oil and grease would just blend right in with the pitch black of his hoodie, and he wasn't one to care about how pristine he appeared. "I figure if it's not running, I can't really make it worse as long as I don't break a bolt or something, so I'm just fucking around."

Mr. Swordbright nodded, approving of his willingness to take initiative at least, even if he was grasping at straws. "Alright, let me explain what some of these parts actually do, and we can look for the one that isn't doing what it should," he suggested, tossing the shirt in the seat and hunkering down on the other side of the mower, "And stop swearing."

Oro didn't, and his mentor didn't stop insisting on it each time, but they both managed to keep their tempers from growing any hotter passed that point. Oro got the impression Mr. Swordbright wasn't much of a mechanic, himself, since he seemed less to be explaining the machine than describing what he himself could see as they followed belts to wheels to shafts to hoses throughout the engine. It took them more than two hours, which was longer than Oro was required to stay by court order, to finally reach the conclusion that a spark plug had burnt out and needed replacing. The Rabbit mostly found it tedious and boring, but at least appreciated that he hadn't been assigned a chore and then left to deal with it like it was his problem.

"Well, I don't have one of those on hand, so I guess we're done for today," the Lion sighed, wiping the grease off his hand with a rag from the shed as they walked back around to the front of the house. "Same time Wednesday. We'll finish it then, and see how well you drive it."

"Fine," Oro huffed, tired more from boredom and aggravation than the work, and eager to be away from this man. He stepped onto the porch just long enough to grab his backpack before hopping back down and starting for the road. Mr. Swordbright arched a brow at his back, apparently a little surprised by something, but let him go without another word.

Sarahi pinched his arm as soon as he walked through the cafeteria door the next day. "Hey!" he barked as he yanked his arm away, "The fuck was that for?"

"I'm mad, obviously," the Sha'khari huffed, shooing him toward the food line, "Get your tray and sit down so I can chew you out."

He did so, grumbling something unintelligible over the din of the cafeteria the entire time, and they took their usual seat in the corner of the room. "Okay, we're down. Now what's got you all pissed off? Did your Dad tell you not to talk to me anymore? I gave you the same advice the day we met, remember."

"No," she frowned as she sat down at his elbow, "But I did hear him telling Mom how foul-mouthed and disrespectful you are...after you left," the girl emphasized, "I get that Dad probably won't let you in the house if he can help it, but you could have at least shouted 'Bye!' through the door or something. I wanted to see you off and ask how it went. Instead I had to eavesdrop on just Dad's side of the story."

Oro quirked a brow. "That's what you're mad about? That I didn't say goodbye?"

"Yes," she answered curtly, thrusting her fork at his nose before turning it on the spaghetti, "So don't forget it tomorrow, okay?"

"Sheesh! Fine! I get it!" he growled, stabbing his own spaghetti, "It's not a social hour, you know."

"Yeah, I know, but still...," she trailed off and let him figure out why she was hurt from there. They both ate quickly and quietly, though she finished well before him simply due to the sheer amount of food he piled on every day. "Anyway," she sighed as she pushed her empty tray aside, "Good work yesterday. Dad was impressed."

Oro almost choked on the apple between his teeth. "By what?! We got jack-shit done, and his assessment of my attitude is not wrong, especially where he's concerned. Just a fucking long waste of time. I'm amazed you can stand being in that house."

"I stand you just fine," she pointed out with a frown.

"Well I guess now I understand how," the Rabbit retorted.

Sarahi rubbed a hand across her face and sighed. "You really don't get it, huh?" she asked in a calmer tone, "There's a boy around the house while his daughter is home. Maybe not all dads are like that, but mine's a little protective, seeing as I've been picked on a lot...and you sure didn't give him any excuse to let his guard down," she pointed out, resting her chin on her palm, "After he finished venting, Mom asked if there was any hope for you, and you know what he said?"

"'Fuck no' would be both my answer and best guess," the Rabbit grumbled, shoving a banana muffin into his mouth whole.

"He said you've got focus, good eyes, and you somehow gave him the impression your arms are stronger than they look," she smiled, "He thinks you'd be a pretty decent person if you kept your mouth shut. And while it pisses me off, he was glad you left without asking to see me first. I guess he was worried we were just looking for an excuse to hang out together." She couldn't understand what he tried to say through the throat-full of muffin he was having a hard time swallowing, but she could tell by the tone it was supposed to be snide. "Yeah, well, I'd like to," she continued as if that was a perfectly logical follow-up, "But you've got to get through your mandatory hours first, or it'll just cause trouble. I'll settle for a 'goodbye' before you leave, and hanging out after Dad's done with you on Saturdays."

---

An hour on Mondays, an hour on Wednesdays, and three on Saturdays. That became his weekly routine over the next six weeks. The Swordbrights were continually surprised that he never missed a day, was never late, and even managed to curb (most of) his swearing, at least while he was at their house. Whether he liked it or not, Oro learned how to fix a lawnmower, cut the grass exactly to specs, repair a railing, and a handful of other minor home-repair tasks. It wouldn't have been so bad, in his opinion, if Mr. Swordbright didn't constantly talk about his day-job while they were at it. Oro heard more about board meetings and rental costs and venture capital in those six weeks than he ever wanted in a lifetime...and he'd only managed about a third of his court-ordered hours so far!

At the end of those six weeks, though, came a Saturday where he found himself at the Swordbrights' house for something other than his mentoring. She'd given him the invitation a week before. He wasn't allowed to refuse. So, crudely wrapped box in hand, Oro rang the doorbell with every expectation of being allowed inside the house for the first time. He grimaced a little at the prospect.

"You made it!" Sarahi cheerfully opened the door...and froze with a stunned expression to see he was not alone.

The lovely Lioness next to him smiled brightly and gave her a little wave. "Hi," she greeted, nudging Oro's back at the same time to coax him into introducing her. Frankly, he looked less than happy to have her along, and kept his head and his eyes subtly angled away from her.

"You...are Nayeli, right?" Sarahi opened the screen door, smiling again, "Oro's sister?"

"Foster," the Rabbit quickly corrected, "House-mate, more like."

Nayeli ignored him, offering her hand to Sarahi, who shook it politely. "That's right! I won't keep you long. I just wanted to meet you, and give you this for your birthday," she offered a little cloth-wrapped bundle with her other hand, "And tell you 'thank you'."

Sarahi blinked in confusion, hesitantly accepting the gift. "For...what?" the Sha'khari tilted her head.

"Being his friend," the Lioness answered sincerely, "He swears up and down that he didn't have any before he moved in with us, and he hasn't made any since, so Mom and I have been...kind of worried," she admitted, taking Sarahi's hand in both of hers briefly. "He's a one-of-a-kind guy...and that includes a one-of-a-kind jerk," she rolled her eyes with a sheepish grin as she said it, "So he needs a one-of-a-kind friend to put up with him. I'm glad he found one."

Sarahi's cheeks turned red. She'd never heard compliments like that from anyone but her parents before...not sincerely, anyway. Even Oro's rare positive remarks were always a little back-handed. "Thank you," she answered softly, "Um...do you want to come in? There's plenty of cake and hamburgers!"

The girl smiled, but shook her head. "I wasn't invited, so I promised not to stay. I don't want to embarrass him," she nodded with a grin toward the Rabbit standing quietly at her shoulder, "I just wanted to say that in person. Oh, and Mom wants you to know you're welcome to come to our place any weekend. She'd love to meet you." She let go of Sarahi's hand then, and gave a little wave goodbye as she backed toward the steps...but the Sha'khari caught her hand again before she could get out of reach.

"You're invited now," Sarahi insisted, "Please stay."

"You might as well," Oro growled beside her, "You're better company than I am anyway, and you don't have track or anything better to do today. Right?" She gave him a slightly worried look over her shoulder, as if uncertain whether she should make some excuse to leave still or if he was serious. He clarified by shoving her through the door ahead of him, whether she liked it or not.

"Mom!" Sarahi called as they filed into the entry hall, "Can we have another plate, please? There's one more guest."

"Oh my, how wonderful!" her mother smiled as the trio wandered into the dining room, where plates had been laid out around the table stacked with home-made burgers and all kinds of fixings. Through the archway to the living-room, a pile of presents could be seen waiting in the corner for later.

"Mrs. Swordbright. Mr. Swordbright," Nayeli paused in the door and bowed politely to each of them before taking the seat Sarahi pointed her to. Sarahi's mother laid a paper plate in front of her, along with a bun and a thick patty, and gestured for her to help herself to the fixings that were laid out. "Thank you, ma'am."

"This is Nayeli Hope," the Sha'khari told them quickly, adding the presents they had brought to the pile, "Oro's foster-sister."

"Now this one I like," her father chuckled with a broad smile, "Respectful! Thank you for coming."

"Thank you for having me," she beamed, "Especially since I wasn't supposed to be here. I didn't mean to intrude..."

"Pretty sure the only intruder here is me," Oro rolled his eyes, having a sneaking suspicion Sarahi had to do some hard talking to convince her parents to let him come over for this. Despite the time they'd spent together, and her father's increasing (if begrudging) respect for his work-ethic, Oro was anything but popular with her parents. They still didn't trust him inside the house, and would almost certainly have preferred a family-only celebration...or any friend except him.

"Not at all," Mr. Swordbright insisted, though Oro was still dubious as to whether that included his remark, "We could stand a few more intrusions from our daughter's friends."

"Heh...well, you are looking at the only two," Sarahi admitted, "And I only just met Nayeli, really...so, I hope we can be friends?"

Nayeli paused in fixing up her burger, and gave a bright smile to the Sha'khari. "I would love to...as long as it won't make things awkward for you and Oro," she admitted, clearly thinking her foster-brother was far more desperate for friends than she was.

"Not at all!" Sarahi assured her, looking to Oro to seal the deal. The Rabbit was busy piling toppings onto two burgers, and pointedly ignoring them for the moment.

"Hem...so, Nayeli...do you play sports at your school?" Mrs. Swordbright asked, politely ignoring Oro's poor manners and taking interest in the more talkative sibling, whom she had already noticed had the kind of toned legs you get from doing loooots of running.

"Track, if that counts," Nayeli nodded with a smile, "I might have tried softball, but the equipment gets kind of pricy, so I took the more frugal option that still let me play to my talents."

"Heh, 'frugal'," chuckled Mr. Swordbright, "Not many kids your age seem to know that word, much less practice it. Smart girl. What does your mother do?"

Business was Mr. Swordbright's...well, business...so he tended to gravitate toward that kind of question. Knowing people's professions and connections was what buttered his bread. But the way Nayeli cringed just slightly at the question made him think he'd stepped on a landmine by accident. "Ah, don't worry about it," the big Lion waved off the question, "I just admire a woman with the drive to bring up a kid and a foster by herself."

The young Lioness nodded appreciatively, but continued, "Me too. It's not easy being a bartender at Owl Eyes, from what I hear, but Mom always says to never be ashamed of honest work."

They tried not to exchange looks, but it happened too naturally. A flash of recognition with just a hint of pity passed between Mr. and Mrs. Swordbright. Owl Eyes bar had a bit of a reputation: The drinks were expensive, the clients well-to-do, and rumor had it there were more than drinks on the menu, if you knew who and how to place your order. Nayeli's mother rarely got home until hours after the business officially closed for the night, and never shared details about what she did in the interim with her daughter. She had described it once as "keeping one of the regulars warm until he sobered up," and let her fill in the blanks as well as a teenager could.

Mr. Swordbright nodded encouragingly. "Sound like she's working hard to raise you well, then."

"He-ck of a woman," even Oro agreed, though he almost didn't catch his tongue in time. The compliment, poorly as it was almost phrased, surprised the older Lions. Oro never seemed to respect any grown-up.

"Thank you," Nayeli smiled, unphased, and turned to her foster-brother briefly, "So Oro, now that you have a friend sitting with you, may I join you for lunch?"

"Absolutely!" Sarahi answered before the grumpy Rabbit had a chance, "In fact, I was a little surprised you never sat with us before. Though Oro did admit to warning you off," Sarahi gave him a mock frown, as if she'd proven he should have been more encouraging.

Nayeli nodded with a laugh, "Not half as surprised as I was to see you sitting with him! I'm sorry if I seemed rude that day, but I didn't want to scare you off by putting too much attention on you. I guess I was worried for nothing."

"If she wasn't ... afraid of me," Oro growled, and Sarahi could practically hear him censoring himself in real-time just before the words got out, "What the ... heck would make you think you could scare her off?"

Nayeli had just taken a big bite from her burger, and chewed it thoughtfully before answering. Very thoughtfully. Oro had asked the question like he already knew the answer, and Sarahi suddenly worried he was putting his foster-sister on the spot for something on purpose...and she did not like that. Unfortunately, he was too far for her front paw to reach under the table for a swat. "Oh, don't worry about that," the Sha'khari smiled, "I appreciate the thoughtfulness, but I'd love to sit with you at lunch."

The Lioness smiled and nodded, finally getting her bite down and following it with a sip of soda before knitting her fingers above her plate. "Mm...much as I'd love to let that slide, I think I do owe you a more serious apology in that regard. Mrs. Swordbright, Mr. Swordbright, I don't think you're going to appreciate this, either, so I apologize to you first." She cleared her throat then, turning to Sarahi. "We went to different middle-schools, so I don't know what you went through there. When we started our freshman year, some of the girls from your old school told me you're the shy type, and that's why you don't talk much, and keep to the corner in the locker room and such. So I never spoke to you, since I'm kind of...overbearing, sometimes." She met Sarahi's eyes with embarrassment, but unflinching. "It's clear to me now that I was duped, and that was a lie. I have been made complicit with your bullies. I am very sorry, and ask that you forgive me."

Her mother had tears in her eyes. So did Sarahi. Oro and Mr. Swordbright both looked like they were contemplating effective methods for humiliating a couple of stupid high-school drama queens, but kept their respective plots to themselves. "You're still going to lose more friends if you start sitting with me," Oro noted with a tone of warning.

She turned to give him a disapproving look. "Well, I'm going to lose at least two of them on Monday regardless, and that has nothing to do with you and everything to do with lying to me. The rest can talk to me in homeroom or at track. And if that's all it takes for them to ditch me," she turned back to Sarahi, reaching a hand across the table with a smile, "The kind of friend that even this jerk couldn't push away is the kind I'd rather have anyway."

Sarahi accepted that hand in a heartbeat, trying hard not to cry, and smiled back at her with a nod. Mrs. Swordbright wiped her eyes and cleared her throat. "Ah...so, Nayeli, you run track?" she asked, trying to turn the conversation to something lighter and restore the party atmosphere.

"Oro," Mr. Swordbright grunted, nodding toward the kitchen, "Help me put the leftovers in the fridge. These burgers are too big for anyone to need two, if we're having cake later. Well...anyone but you, apparently," he noted the plate Oro had already filled and emptied twice, including chips.

The Rabbit didn't answer him or look at him, but did slide his chair back and grab a couple of the plates holding the toppings from the table. In the kitchen, the big Lion was pulling out ziplock bags and tongs to handle the greasy patties. "I might have to reevaluate my stance on you," he told the young Rabbit softly, "You...might...not be bad for my daughter, after all."

"...The hell are you talking about?" Oro grumbled, putting the spare buns back into the bag. He paused when an elbow hammered down on the island counter-top and Mr. Swordbright pointed the tongs at his nose.

"Clean up that mouth. I've told you I'm no fool...but I am impressed today. That was good. Thank you," the Lion finished, and they went about the rest of putting the food away in silence...after assuring Mrs. Swordbright that the sudden thud hadn't been anything serious.

The ladies appeared to be in much better moods when they returned, talking about hobbies and the injustices of official sports leagues. "...run with you, anytime," Nayeli was saying with a wink to Sarahi, "But try not to rub it in too much. I've only got two, you know."

"They don't make me that much faster!" Sarahi giggled. Seeing the men returning, Mrs. Swordbright suggested they all move to the living-room to open the presents, so they all shuffled that direction. Nayeli gravitated to the far end of the couch, being considerate of the fact that she was still the newcomer here, and Oro was about to move right passed even her to an armchair at the back of the room, until Sarahi caught his hand and planted him on the other end of the couch, opposite his foster-sister. The Sha'khari then sat herself down between their knees, happy as a flower in spring with her two friends on either side of her.

"Okay," Mrs. Swordbright smiled, looking over the pile of presents, "We'll start with what your friends brought you!" It was simple enough to pick them out: they were the only two that didn't match the wrapping paper she and Mr. Swordbright had used for Sarahi's other presents. She started with the little bundle wrapped in a yellow-and-orange striped cloth.

"Oo, creative wrapping," the Lioness praised as she laid the bundle in Sarahi's hands.

"Well, I kind of cheated," Nayeli admitted as the Sha'khari untied the top of the bundle. The cloth fell free to reveal a fluffy, stylized pillow of a lion's head. The "wrapping" was actually attached to the rim to represent the mane. Around the edges were stitched the words "Beauty", "Strength", and "Pride". "I have no idea what your tastes in anything are yet," Nayeli explained as if looking for an excuse not to apologize for the generic nature of the present, "And he was being completely useless, so I just picked out something I hoped you'd find cute."

"Oh wow! I love it!" Sarahi turned to hug her, squishing the pillow between them as she did.

Oro pulled his hood up over his ears and down over his eyes, muttering something they didn't quite catch. "What? You were," Nayeli insisted, taking a guess at the nature of his complaint.

"Nah, I was just bemoaning getting shown up by someone who didn't even know her when you went to the store," he grumbled, "Mine already looked like garbage. Now it looks ugly, even for garbage."

Sarahi quirked a brow, still smiling through her surprise. "Hold on...is that embarrassment? You have that emotion?"

"FU--nny very," he nearly bit his tongue, clamping down on the words that instinctively flew to it, and Sarahi burst into giggles, knowing full well what they were. His efforts today were actually quite touching. Even her parents were letting his close slip-ups slide.

"Alright, alright, let's see this 'garbage', then" Sarahi nodded, letting her mother bring out the other package that was obviously Oro's. It wasn't a very neat wrapping job, but she hardly cared about the paper, and he ought to know better.

As she accepted the little box into her hands, though, Oro pulled his hood down over his eyes again, as though ashamed to watch. "It's not finished yet. I ran out of time. So keep that in mind."

Sarahi paused just as she made the first tear in the paper. "Wait...you made this?" she asked, pointing at the box and whatever mystery it contained. "That's super sweet! I've never had a home-made present! It is not garbage, I'll tell you that right now!"

"Yeeaah, save that for after you see it. You were warned," he grumbled, but sat stoically waiting for her to finish unwrapping it, "I promise I will finish it soon."

She tore through the paper with a whole new excitement, pulled open the obviously reused box underneath...and slowly hauled out a rolled bundle of rough denim. "It's..." she tried to guess, but sadly couldn't, so she found the edge of the roll and began to unwind it. Nayeli helped her as the shape turned out to be more complex than a simple square or other basic shape.

What eventually emerged was something like four denim sleeves attached to each corner of a kind of blanket. It looked to have been sewn together in patches of whatever size he could find, instead of following the usual seams of...whatever he'd been trying to make. Sarahi refused to ask, but kept looking it over and turning it around in her head. "P...pants?" she whispered at last, then turned to him for confirmation. "You're making pants for me?"

"Still need a zipper...and probably a lot of hemming in, or letting out, or something. It's a prototype, okay?!" he huffed defensively, though no one had offered any criticism, "I started working on it that day you told me you don't really like the skirts, but they don't make pants for all four legs. I figured I'd send the pattern to an actual tailor once I got it worked out. But then you gave me the invite, and I tried to rush and...well...," he waved at the result.

"Oh...Oro," the Sha'khari clutched the Frankenstein of cloth to her belly, then suddenly went running up the stairs with it, toward her room, "I am trying it on!"

His chin fell out from under his hoodie. "It--it doesn't close, yet!" he reminded her, but she already had the door to her room shut.

"Oro," Nayeli chuckled, "You're sewing that by hand? You should ask Mom to help. She's actually pretty good at sewing. At the least, she could give you some good tips...and a sewing machine," the young Lioness winked.

"Your mom's busy enough already," he grunted, "She doesn't have time to waste teaching home-ec to some brat who'll only ever use it once."

"You're wrong," Mrs. Swordbright interjected, surprisingly, "Even if you only use it once, a moment like that is precious to a mother. It is never wasted, and never begrudged," she promised sincerely, as if she had some specific experience of that in her memory. At the very least, Oro couldn't argue with it coming from her.

"Not to pry, but where did you get the denim?" Nayeli asked while they waited, "I don't think you and I together have that many pants to scrap, and none of mine have gone missing..."

Oro chuckled at that. She was sharp as ever. "Well, if you've noticed any guys at school still walking around in their sweats after gym class--"

"I'll stop her," Nayeli promised an alarmed Mrs. Swordbright quickly, before he'd even finished. She hopped right over the back of the couch to bolt for the stairs, shouting as she took them two at a time, "Sarahi! Don't put that on!"

"Young man," growled Mr. Swordbright, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I will buy you a whole bolt of denim from the craft store if you just ask. Especially if you tell me it's for this. You cannot keep trying to make ends meet like this."

"Yeah, yeah," the Rabbit sighed, sinking back into his hoodie. Sarahi and Nayeli came trotting down the stairs together a minute or two later, with the half-finished pants folded over Sarahi's arms.

"Eh...well, I'm pleased to say it needs more taking in than letting out," she offered, trying her best to be encouraging to him, "...And maybe a little evening up." The front-left leg had been about three inches shorter than the rest, after she got it more-or-less centered on her back, just before Nayeli barged in. It had been roomy, and she thought it might be comfortable once it was fully finished. On the one hand, despite her best efforts, he was not much encouraged. On the other, he was stubborn and suffered no delusions regarding the quality of his craftsmanship, so he was not much discouraged either. Given a few more...months...he would have it finished.

They didn't linger on it long, and moved on to other presents...and cake! Soon after that, Oro and Nayeli were following Sarahi up the steps, helping her carry her new gifts to her room. "Oo, wait here a sec," she asked quickly, stopping them in the hall. Sarahi slipped through the door quickly and closed it behind her, as Nayeli chuckled and gave Oro a sly smile. She bumped her hips against his to get his attention.

"You nervous?" the Lioness asked, causing him to quirk a confused brow. "Girl's room and all."

The Rabbit blinked at her...then laughed, heartily. "I've walked through your door more than once," he reminded her, to which Nayeli just nodded.

"Yes, but that's different. I'm--"

"Okay!" Sarahi opened the door wide, interrupting them, "Come on in."

Her room was modest, containing little besides the necessities. A queen-size mattress in a (very) sturdy frame was pushed up against the wall under the window to their right. Just beyond the foot-board, a desk for her schoolwork fit snugly, leaving just enough room for the french doors sealing off her closet to open in the far corner of the room. A small book case sat on top of a chest of drawers on the wall to their left, the only other furniture in the room. The curtains and linens were all a deep, saturated ocean-blue, and the walls sparingly decorated with posters of her favorite video games. She apparently wasn't the type to follow bands. A handful of action figures stood guard in front of the books on the shelf.

"Gosh, my room looks so messy compared to yours," Nayeli giggled as she crossed the threshold, "Pardon the intrusion."

"What were you hiding?" Oro smirked, barely even giving the room a glance.

"Nothing!" Sarahi huffed as he squeezed passed them to set the box with her new laptop on the desk, "I was just making sure the bed was straightened up and the closet closed. You're the first boy to ever...," she bit her lip at that, realizing it might not be wise to suggest that she cared what he thought of her space.

Nayeli set the clothes in her arms on the bed...then frowned at Oro as he flopped backward onto it from in front of the desk. "Oro!"

"It's comfy," he rolled his eyes, "What is it with girls and their rooms? I have one, too. They're not temples or anything."

"You--" Nayeli reconsidered what she was about to say, but still didn't look happy with him. "Most kids," she began more gently, "And even teenagers do feel possessive of their rooms. It's our private space, where everything is ours, even the rules...mostly." He had never really considered the room he had at her place "his"...meaning he'd been without that private, personal space for a long time. He'd probably forgotten what it felt like. Even so, she gave his ear a quick pinch, eliciting a surprisingly loud yelp from him and a glare. "So be more respectful when you go into someone else's."

Sarahi waved her hands appeasingly. "It's okay, Nayeli. I'm glad he's so comfortable. Do you keep yours nice and orderly?" she flashed a smug grin at the boy on the bed. Somehow she had the impression he was the type whose clothes never found their way into the closet, littered the floor with empty bottles and cans, and only kept the blanket wadded up on the bed so he wouldn't have to find it after he turned the light off.

"F--," he caught himself and peeked at the closed door, trying to remember (or gauge) whether he was in the clear to swear here. "Fuck no," he decided, "But I don't drop by often enough to mess it up much anyway. Mrs. Hope's not a stickler for making beds, and I drop my laundry directly into the washing machine and pull it straight from the dryer, so there's nothing to get messy, really."

The girls rolled their eyes together. "What about your desk?" Sarahi prompted, "I'm assuming you have one..."

"Never touch it," Oro confirmed, "Pristine as the day I moved in."

"With a little dust for interest," Nayeli nodded, "Actually...he is kind of a minimalist," she confessed to Sarahi, "You've got more furniture here," she tapped the chest of drawers, "And his bookshelf is practically empty. And there is nothing on the walls. I haven't peeked in his closet, but he does seem to do most of his changing in the laundry-room, since it's kind of connected to our bathroom. I wouldn't be surprised if it's empty."

"And nothing under the bed, either," the Rabbit grumbled, "Now that I don't have my bat. Need to find a replacement for that..."

That definitely seemed like a thing he'd do. Nayali tossed his legs to the side, off of the clothes she and Sarahi had just put down on the bed. "Here, I'll help you hang these, so he doesn't track dirty feet all over them before you've had a chance to wear them," Nayeli offered, picking up one of the new skirts and shaking it out. Sarahi smiled gratefully and opened her closet.

"Oh wow," Nayeli blinked, seeing all the empty space between the neatly hung tops and folded skirts, "You keep it pretty trim, huh?"

"Only recently," the Sha'khari nodded, taking down a hanger for the skirt Nayeli handed to her, "I got tired of trying to squeeze new things in between all the stuff I had that was pretty, but never got worn...mostly because it was too pretty," she giggled at the absurdity, "And since my birthday was coming up, and I know what Mom does for that, I cleaned out last month."

"Yeah," Nayeli smiled, "Mine might have even more space than this if I tossed everything that doesn't quite fit anymore."

"The hell is that?" Oro remarked from the bed, having peeked one eye open to see what all the fuss was about and now eying something bright pink on a hanger at the end of the bar.

Sarahi blinked at him, followed his eyes to the garment in question, then rolled hers with a little grin. "You do not get to make fun of my bunny-print pajamas. They are cute, and fluffy, and I will trample you if you laugh at them."

Oro sat up for a better look. He wasn't laughing. If anything, he looked perplexed about something. "You sleep in that?" he pointed at it, to be sure they were talking about the same item, and particularly at the long trail of the fleece skirt that matched the top. "Do you ever get to wear anything comfortable? Outside of the shower, maybe?" Besides being yet another skirt, it looked hot even to him, amounting to a second blanket besides the one under his butt. "No wonder you got so excited over that half-stitched monstrosity."

"Well I can't just parade around the house half-naked," the Sha'khari frowned at him, "I'm not the only one that lives here, and I'm well passed the age even my parents are comfortable getting flashed by me."

The Rabbit snorted and flopped onto his back again. "I told you before, nobody's getting turned on by that," he retorted. Sarahi froze in the middle of hanging the next skirt, and both girls shot him a glare: Nayeli because he'd gone there, and Sarahi because...well, that hurt more than he realized, apparently, even if she didn't want to admit it. "More importantly," the jerk continued, oblivious to their looks, "Your own room is the exception, isn't it? Sleep in the buff and tell the world to fuck off, if that's what you like. Otherwise all that shit about 'private space' and 'your rules' is just that: a load of shit."

Maybe he hadn't forgotten, after all. Maybe he just didn't like the idea of having it taken away again. Regardless, Nayeli sighed as they hung the last of the new outfits. "I did say he can be a one-of-a-kind jerk, right?" she tried to smile apologetically through her grimace, restraining the urge to cross the room and slap some tact into her foster-brother, "Please ignore him."

"Oh trust me I know, and I have tried," the other girl assured her, returning the smile more effectively as she slid the closet doors shut. "I kind of appreciate your...weird...efforts to be supportive," she remarked to Oro, "But I think you're misunderstanding something. I don't always hate my clothes. Just--" she paused as something jerked at the cloth in front of her right leg and the closet doors thumped in protest. The hem of her skirt had gotten caught between them. "...In some circumstances," she finished with a chuckle, freeing her skirt, "Like that."

"Yeah, sure," he smirked, pointing at Nayeli, "At least other girls have the option to avoid that," he noted, calling her attention to the Lioness' snug-fit jeans that hugged her legs and definitely did not get caught in doors. Sarahi had to admit to herself that she was a little envious...and Nayeli looked embarrassed that she was being used against her new friend.

The Sha'khari wasn't about to let him get away with it, though. "For someone who just wants me to be comfortable, you're mighty keen on talking me out of my skirt," she pointed out with hands on hips, "Are you sure you don't just want to see me bottomless? Maybe this does something for you, after all," she slapped her tail against her own back leg.

"Fuck off," he growled, sounding genuinely insulted now, "Only thing I want to see is you take a stand, one way or the other. Either tell me to get the hell out, because I'm a jerk and you know it, or tell the world to fuck off, because this is your space." He tucked his hands under his head and laid back with his eyes closed then, as if he intended to take her bed for a test-nap while she made up her mind.

"...Alright," Sarahi huffed after a long, thoughtful moment. Then he heard her move to the foot of the bed, followed by the shuffling of cloth...

"Oh gosh, no no, Sarahi!" Nayeli gasped, "Don't do that."

She grunted a little with the effort of reaching her hindquarters. "These," she chuckled after a minute, "Are what I really hate. The skirts aren't so bad, but these rub the fur wrong a lot," Sarahi explained, and Oro could pretty easily guess what she was talking about.

There was a long, quiet moment, as Nayeli didn't seem to know what to say and Sarahi waited for some reaction from him. "...Well?" she asked finally, "Not even gonna peek?"

His ear twitched in annoyance. "I'm confused now: is it rude to stare at a girl with her bottoms off, or rude to ignore her? Guys apparently don't have a polite option."

Nayeli snickered. Then gave a more sincerely surprised gasp, just before a wad of cloth hit Oro in the face. Naturally, it didn't hurt much, but his reflexive attempt to slap it away caused him to smack himself in the nose...which hurt rather a bit more, and drew a giggle from both girls. Oro favored them both with a menacing glare before he realized Sarahi was still wearing her skirt, and the cloth she hit him with was her panties.

"Well, I have to give you full credit, brother--"

"I'm not your brother," the Rabbit snapped, interrupting Nayeli's giggles and whatever else she was trying to say.

"Ahem, Oro, I mean. Full credit: you really weren't peeking," the Lioness complimented him.

"Of course I fucking wasn't," he growled, "I'm not fucking around. If she's uncomfortable, it's on her to make herself comfortable. All I do is point out the fucking obvious way...since so many people seem to have trouble seeing that. I'm trying to make it clear, not harder."

Nayeli was taken a little aback by how genuinely offended he was...like someone had impugned his honor back in the days of knights. Of course, he was much more likely to have been called a knave back then. But it was...cute, if scarey, to see how much he valued her trust, to be so insulted that it might be questioned. She tried her best to look chastised. So did Sarahi. Nether of them were doing a great job of it.

"Sorry I threw my panties at you," the Sha'khari said sincerely, though the grin on her face still said it had been worth it.

"Whatever," Oro grunted, rolling off the bed an onto his feet, "I've been hit with worse. Now I'm out of here," he declared, opening the door.

Sarahi's smile disappeared then. "Hey, don't be mad. You asked for it."

"I know that. I'm always fucking mad," he growled back, "'S got nothing to do with you. Mrs. Hope will be up soon, if she's not already. I promised her I'd come straight back after your party, to prove I'm not getting up to any trouble today," he explained, "If Nayeli's gone, too, she's going to worry I finally dragged her into something, so I'm going home. Come on," he gestured to his foster-sister.

Nayeli rolled her eyes, pulling her phone from her hip pocket and waving it at him. "You know that's what these are for, right?"

He sneered at it. "And you know I don't have one, so I do things the old-fashioned way: with my own two hands. Or legs. Or mouth. Whatever."

Nayeli sighed, quickly typing a message to her mother and sending it off. She then turned to Sarahi. "Hey, mind if I get your number? We should totally go running or something later. No jerks allowed," she nodded her head toward Oro, though she grinned as she said it.

"Sure!" the Sha'khari beamed, fetching her own phone from the desk. "...Can I come with?"

"Huh?" Nayeli blinked.

"I mean, if you guys are really going home...may I tag along?" she asked with only a little hesitance as the pair swapped numbers, "I'd like to meet your mom, and thank her for letting him walk me home every day. You came all the way down here to talk to me this morning, and I've never even seen your front door." She gave a sideways look at Oro as she explained it. "And besides, you still haven't met my third demand even once. Not that I blame you. Dad will kill us both if we try it around here." She said that part softly, so as not to be heard through the open door Oro was standing in, leaning on the frame and looking more put out by the minute as his foster-sister delayed their departure.

Nayeli quirked a brow, looking back and forth between them. "Third demand? What are we talking about now?"

Oro, leaning in her door-frame, shook his head warningly and tapped his lips. The door was open, and her parents were in the living-room. She was probably very right about her Dad, and her Mom wouldn't be much different. It was dangerous to talk about it here. "Sure," he answered at a more normal volume, "She'll be thrilled stupid, I'm sure. She's the social type by nature. That's where this one gets it from," he nodded his chin at Nayeli...then looked over the Sha'khari once, and added in a near-whisper, "Wear something you won't mind getting blood on."

"Excuse me?!" Nayeli blinked at them both, now thoroughly in the dark and confused.

"I'll explain on the way. Come on," he growled again, this time leaving the room entirely to coax her to follow. "Well, that was fun," he announced on his way down the stairs, making it clear to the Swordbrights that he was coming back down.

"Are you leaving already?" Mrs. Swordbright asked politely, though she was probably glad to have him, at least, heading for the door. "Would you like us to drive you? It's a bit of a walk, I'm sure," she was at least kind enough to offer, though that might have been a courtesy she was extending to Nayeli more than Oro.

Her manners turned to surprise when her daughter appeared at the top of the stairs. "Mom, can I go with them?! Please?!" Her mother didn't quite seem to know what to answer to that...not least because their car couldn't fit three passengers if one of them was Sarahi, who took the back seat all by herself.

Mr. Swordbright looked from her eager, pleading face to Nayeli briefly...ignoring the Rabbit...then went back to watching the show he had on the television. "Let her spend some time with her new friends," he suggested, "He walks here and home every day. It can't be that far, am I right?"

"It's not bad," Nayeli assured them, "Thank you for the offer, though. I'll ask Mom to drive her back later, or I'll walk with her. Thank you for letting her come!"

Sarahi was practically chanting the same thing from her room, where she seemed to be hastily changing clothes without having bothered to close the door, since she was the only one still upstairs. She came trotting down the steps excitedly a few minutes later in a faded tee-shirt and a long, denim skirt that had seen better days, but still looked nice.

Her appearance caught her mother a little off-guard. "Honey, don't you want to look nice to meet their mother?"

"Foster-mom," Oro corrected from beside the front door, but was summarily ignored.

"You guys live by the foot of the mountain, right?" Sarahi guessed, only having the vaguest idea of which direction Oro went when he left her place, "I thought we might get outside a bit. At least in the yard. I wanted to wear something comfy for that." With a little reluctance, her mother nodded and waved goodbye to them as the trio finally got out the door.