FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Over the next couple days, school continued rather similar as the first few days. While at school, the two otters often spent time together whether it was between periods or on their breaks. Often at least one of Rye's veteran friends would join in. After school, Rye often went to the Lagoon to work and in preparation of the much-anticipated Amor Games. Only once more in the week did Cloud accompany Rye to the Lagoon, but he did not serve as a distraction while Rye worked this time.

The day of the games had finally arrived, and although school was in session, the students that Rye observed were obviously enthusiastically excited.

"I heard that the Lagoon will be hiring caterers so that we can all eat for free," exclaimed Andy. The bat was resting on top of a desk like most of the students in the early morning classroom.

Rye, sitting across from Andy, shook his head. "No I haven't heard anything about that," he said. "That'd be far too expensive. Ryan has lots open for vendors like every other Amor Game but the vendors don't give out food for free."

"But Diamond's Heart is supposed to be there," explained Marian.

"Diamond's Heart?" Ariel asked. "They've never been there before."

"I don't know about them," said Rye. "There was a restaurant that rented out a large plot in the Sand Lot but I don't know who. If it is Diamonds then they'll still be very expensive."

"What's Diamond's Heart," Cloud asked, sitting on a desk adjacent to Rye's.

"The best restaurant ever," Ariel exclaimed. "Rated best in Ab Amor. That'd be awesome if they were there."

"There are so many rumors that I hear the day of the games," Rye explained in a quiet tone to Cloud. "Don't believe anything you hear today unless it's from me."

Cloud chuckled and Rye smiled. He secretly loved Cloud's laugh and expressions; his crush on Cloud had almost become unbearable. The otter desired nothing more than to make a move, but the fear of rejection held him back.

"After hearing all these rumors of a godly water park, I fear I might be disappointed when I arrive there this afternoon," Cloud responded still with a smile.

"I hope not," Rye said somewhat worried. "I'll try my best to show you a good time so I really hope you won't be disappointed."

"I'm sure I won't be."

"Rye, Ariel!" shouted the teacher of the classroom. She hid her smile. "Get out of my classroom. The bell rang three minutes ago."

The group of students laughed, knowing the teacher well enough to know she wasn't completely serious.

"We should get going," Rye said to the group and Cloud.

"Does that mean I get to stay?" asked Nate while the other students started to disperse.

"No, you get out too Nate," she replied. "I'll see you all this afternoon at the Lagoon now get out of my classroom so I can teach some students."

While Rye walked out of the classroom with Cloud, they overhead Nate's exaggerated whine and moan. The otters chuckled at it before continuing to their first class. While they took their seats and waited for the class to begin, they watched their excited classmates slowly come through the door. By the time the final bell rang, the class was still going on their conversations and Mr. Mane allowed it for much longer than he usually did. After he gained control of the class, he went by rather quickly because it was such an easy day with only lessons of the past week being reviewed.

The following classes were no different. All the teachers were obviously excited about the Games as much as the students and no one really wanted to do any work for the day. The morning break came and went just as the classes did. By the time lunch came around, Rye's own excitement soon started to betray his facade. The last day of the week was turning out to be a great day already.

"What about Mermaid Ruins?" asked Nate, sitting two seats away from Rye at the lunch table.

"Oh I love that one," exclaimed Ariel who is across the table from Rye.

"We should play on Seaweed Jungle," suggested Patrick.

"That one is awesome," said Nate as he supported the idea. "I found the best hide out spot in the secondary jungle. Which one are we going to play first Rye?"

"I don't know," answered Rye. The seat next to him was empty because Cloud was purchasing his lunch while Rye held his seat. "It's majority rules. I like all the maps really. I think we've downloaded two new maps for laser tag tonight. We should give those a try too. I'm going to go find Cloud."

Standing from his seat, Rye started to make his way toward the cafeteria when a tall stallion intercepted him.

"You and your new friend seem pretty close," the stallion said roughly.

"Hi Jacob," said Rye lightly. "Did Diane tell you to bother me?"

"It's common knowledge that you two spend a lot of time together, alone," stated Jacob, folding his arms across his chest.

"What are you getting at?" Rye asked harshly now glaring.

"Rumors are going around that you're gay," said the stallion.

"Why? Because I enjoy the company of another otter. I don't respond well to fabricated rumors."

"They're not fabricated rumors," Jacob said. "Everyone thinks you're gay."

"And who is 'everyone'?" asked Rye.

The step of a paw from behind the stallion drew their attention. Cloud was standing there, holding a lunch bag in his paw. The stallion scoffed and walked off.

"There you are," said Rye, relieved that the stallion had left.

"What was that about?" Cloud asked watching the stallion leave.

"Diane is sending her friends to harass me and spread rumors about you and me," answered Rye, leading the white otter back to the table. "Nothing new."

Cloud chuckled. "Rumors? About me?"

"Yeah," said Rye with both otters taking their seats. "Don't worry about it. It probably won't even leave their group. Diane and her friends are not known to be passing along any true gossip."

"They saying that we're dating?" asked Cloud, almost stating it.

Rye sighed, hoping to avoid the conversation. "Yeah, something like that. Just ignore it; the group is desperate for attention. Diane especially."

"Would..." Cloud paused, thinking of the right words. "Are there no oth... no gay people in this school?"

"There are," Rye answered. "But they're not who you'd expect. Most people think Shasta's gay but he's not. He doesn't date anyone. Marvin is gay, but I don't know if you've met him yet. There's a few others that I know but it's not my place to call them out on it."

"I suppose not," Cloud said, looking down the table at the other students. "I don't see Marvin. I think I remember him; he sat with us outside earlier in the week."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that," Rye admitted going back to his lunch. "He'll be at the Games but he doesn't go in the pool too often."

"Well, I'm an otter and I need to be in the water every now and then" stated Cloud. "Especially when I get opportunities at beating you at another race."

"You won that race? I thought we called it a tie?" Rye complained, holding back his laughing.

"No, I won," Cloud boasted.

"If that's so then I claim to be the better diver," said Rye with a crooked smile.

"Nope, I'm still better," Cloud playfully and stubbornly said.

"So what am I better at then?"

"Fetching apples." Cloud and Rye both laughed, nearly choking on some food. "In all honesty, I don't want to compete this time."

"Me neither," said Rye.

"Unless it's laser tag," Nate chimed in, after obviously eavesdropping on the otters.

"Well, that doesn't require nearly as much energy as racing does," said Rye.

"I can't argue with that," said Nate. "But you can compete in laser tag. The two of you on the same team is a guaranteed win."

"Anyone get any homework today?" Ariel asked.

"Not me," said Nate.

"Nope," Rye stated while Cloud shook his head. "We don't get homework on the day of the Games."

"Patrick did," Ariel said. "He's not going to worry about it until next week but it upsets me that he has homework over the weekend of the Games."

Besides the failed harassment, the rest of the lunch period went by rather smoothly. After lunch, the otters went to their gym class, which was the only class of the day that went by somewhat normally. Coach Kirkland had his students perform a lot of strenuous warm-up exercises, including running a lap around the school campus. Although exhausting, it wasn't anything that'd leave them all sore for the games. With only two classes left in the day, it wasn't long before Rye was watching the clocks and waiting for school to end.

Only a moment after the final bell, an electric current of excitement blazed throughout the school. With patience, Rye stood from the desk of his final class and walked out while the majority of the other students practically ran for the exits. Once the first bell rang, an excitement ran through the school like an electric current. The halls were alive with yelling and laughter that continued unchecked. A stream of fur moved toward the exits, in which Rye was evidently among. After breaching the main entrance, the crowd dispersed and made it possible for the otter to move freely so he could head straight for his vehicle.

Avoiding being involved in an unfortunate incident with the vehicles already driving off the school campus, Rye couldn't reach his car for another few minutes. By the time he did, Cloud was leaning against the passenger seat waiting for him.

"I didn't think you'd actually beat me here," Rye admitted while he unlocked the vehicle.

"Well, you were walking," said Cloud, sitting in the passenger seat.

"And you ran from your class to my car?" Rye asked.

"I didn't run exactly," Cloud said with a giggle. "I merely walked a brisk pace."

Rye chuckled. He switched his automobile on and steered it for the nearest exit. "So do you have everything you need for the Games?"

"Right here," Cloud replied holding up a plump mesh bag.

"Good," commented Rye while he focused on steering the vehicle in the right direction. The car accelerated until it reached the allowed speed limit until it caught up with the other traffic. "Traffic around the Lagoon is a mess on days of the Games."

"I bet," said Cloud looking through the roof at the sky. "At least the weather is cooperating."

The vehicle was now almost completely stuck behind other traffic, just as every other vehicle within the block radius of the popular destination. Slowly, but steadily, the two otters approached the pool complex, but when it came into view, the vehicle turned off to a road that led away from the parking garage and lot.

"Where we going?" Cloud asked, glancing at the parking lot. It was crowded with cars but vested employees were directing them.

"Back entrance," answered Rye as he concentrated on driving.

"I didn't know there was one," Cloud remarked. The parking lot vanished behind the corner of the main lobby and the view changed to thick trees. The white otter was not successful in finding another pathway onto the property.

The vehicle slowed down and began turning into what appeared to be solid trees, and before Cloud could react, the trees vanished.

"Whoa," he exclaimed. "I thought those were real."

"They're the only ones that aren't," said Rye. Now what surrounded them were heavy shrubs. "This is an employee entrance that was built for the Games."

A decline led the car underground into another parking garage that was already full with other vehicles. Parked near the opposite end of the concrete walls were foreign company vehicles where vendors could be seen unloading boxes.

"Am I allowed to be in here then?" asked Cloud. The driving otter parked his car in one of the few empty spots.

"Sure," answered Rye. He turned off his car and stepped out of it. "Because you were in the car with me means that no more space is being taken up. Bring your bag but leave your school stuff here."

With a curt nod, Cloud grabbed his bag and pulled it from the vehicle while his school supplies remained next to the seat.

"Where's your swimwear?" asked Cloud, following Rye down the aisle of parked cars.

"I left a pair of swimming shorts in my locker yesterday," Rye answered.

"Oh," muttered Cloud while he looked around the garage, even though there wasn't much to see other than the busy vendors.

"Are you sure we can park here?" one vendor asked another. Neither otter paid too much attention while they headed straight for a large door.

"They said we can," answered another vendor. "We paid for the parking permit already anyway."

The rev of an engine made Cloud look back at the entrance of the garage and he was seeing two more cars roll down the slope. Before they could park, the parking garage disappeared as the large door closed behind Cloud.

"Don't fall behind," said Rye, glancing at the white otter. "You might get lost." In front of the otters, lay a large staircase.

"I won't," responded Cloud, sticking close on Rye's tail while they ascended the stairs.

At the top of the staircase, and out another door, the two otters appeared in what seemed to be the back room storage. It was crowded with employees and vendors, each doing their own task.

"Where's lot A-Nine?" one of the vendors asked.

"Against the main structure near the Sand Pit," replied one of the Lagoon's employees. "It's on the map."

After going through several halls and doorways, Cloud finally began to recognize his surrounding. A long hallway stretched out from them, lockers on one end and the main lobby on the other.

"I'm going to go check on Aaron in the lobby," Rye said, halting in the hallway. "You can come along if you want or go get changed and wait out near the pool."

"I'll go with you," Cloud responded gesturing toward the lobby with an open paw. "If you don't mind. I'd probably get lost."

A smile spread across Rye's maw. "No problem." He passed Cloud and led the way toward the lobby. Before reaching the locked door that led straight into the lobby itself, the otters turned to a perpendicular door. Rye grabbed his wallet from his back pocket, pulled a card free from it, and swiped it through a security device on the side of the door.

Once unlocked, he led Cloud through and the mass chatter of an entire crowd taking at once instantly filled the otters' ears. Now behind the main desk, Cloud could see that behind the desk were offices, and dozens of employees were filling almost every open space.

"Hey Rye, excuse me," one of the employees greeted but didn't wait for an answer as she darted around the otters for one of the filing cabinets.

Navigating their way toward the front desk, Rye managed to spot Aaron out of the mess. The fox was kneeling down next to a box, full of hundreds of wristbands.

"Aaron!" Rye yelled over the chatter. The fox looked up in their direction and noticed the otters. After giving orders to a nearby employee, Aaron stood up and quickly walked over to them.

"Come to harass me on one of our busiest days?" asked Aaron with a smirk.

"Not today," Rye answered. "I'm just seeing how you're doing with this mess."

"Could be worse I suppose," Aaron said, leading the two otters out of the way of the other employees. "Ryan is upstairs, and I have the lobby to myself."

"Lucky you," mumbled Rye.

"I know," said Aaron. "Anyway, I have thousands of wristbands to hand out so you two should get to the pool. We'll be opening the doors soon so the lockers are going to be swamped in a couple minutes."

"See you out there?" asked Rye.

"Not this time. I had the last Games off, so I get the next one off instead."

"Sucks for you. Alright then, I'll see you later."

Aaron laughed cheerfully. "Bye otters."

Rye turned on his heel and headed for the door the two otters just came through.

"What are the wristbands for?" Cloud asked once the door shut and halted all crowd chatter.

"When the guests pay, they get those wristbands," explained Rye, walking toward the locker room. "Each one is instantly coded to each person and their family."

"So can they like find their family if a child gets lost?" asked Cloud, glancing over at Rye.

"Yes, that's one of the functions. They do a lot of things but the functions are rarely used. It's not often when someone tries to break into our storage rooms."

Entering the familiar locker room, the otters went to Rye's locker. Since all their school supplies were left in the car, all they had was the clothes on their backs to put in the locker. Without saying a word, Cloud threw his bag on the bench and pulled his shorts from it. He turned away from Rye before he started to undress by pulling off his shirt and unbuckling his pants.

While Cloud undressed, Rye pulled off his shirt and tossed it inside his locker. He also unbuckled his pants, slipped them off and kicked them aside for the moment. Slipping his paw under his boxes, the otter also removed them and then kicked them aside. Rye grabbed his shorts from his locker, and slipped them on over his naked body. He tied them on tight, and was ready to go out to the pool.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Yep," said Cloud. The otter turned around and Cloud was now wearing his shorts. "So why don't we get any of these wristbands?"

"Employees don't get them," answered Rye. Both otter wandered from the lockers, and into the showers that separated them from the exit. "And most who are old enough to take care of themselves don't get them, unless have offspring to look after."

"That makes sense," said Cloud. He walked over toe a shower nozzle and turned it on. He inhaled sharply and jumped back out of the stream of water. Rye raised an eyebrow at him while he turned on his own shower nozzle triumphantly. "Cold," explained Cloud.

Rye chuckled. "We're otters, we don't get cold from water." He stepped into the stream of water and rinsed his fur.

"I wasn't expecting it is all," Cloud excused, stepping back into the water.

After a quick rinse, the now wet otters wandered for the exit. They stepped out into the sun, and let the door shut behind them. Even though school is already out, the sun was still high and bright leaving plenty of hours left in the day.

Once their eyes adjusted to the bright sun, Cloud looked around, and instantly noticed dozens of booths set up along the building's wall. Lagoon employees were supervising while vendors finished displaying their merchandise. Most held food, and were beginning to cook it, while a few others had handmade gifts displayed.

"So what do you want to do?" Rye asked glancing over at his friend.

"I don't know," said Cloud, but he wandered parallel with the vendor stalls, examining each one. Although there were more stalls in the Sand Pit, Cloud was aimlessly wandering away from them. "What does one do at the infamous Amor Games?"

"Anything you want," said Rye following the white tail. "There are plenty of activities to do in the Pit. You can toss a ball or play sports on the courts. You can just swim, dive, chill out, or start dancing."

"Dancing?" asked Cloud, stopping momentarily.

"I was kidding," explained Rye while they resumed walking. "We do have music when it gets later but no one actually dances to it. Why? Did you want to dance?"

"No," exclaimed Cloud. "I'm terrible at it. I don't even like trying."

Rye giggled.

While the otters walked alongside the pool, its waters remained rather calm. It was completely empty right now, and it seemed much bigger because of it. The very slight breeze that blew across the water top caused the only disturbance in the pool. The employees that were supervising the vendors started to disperse; the lifeguards headed for their post and the others went inside.

The chatter that once was isolated in the lobby soon echoed from behind the locker room doors. Eventually the otters heard the noise busted from those doors and a large crowd spilled out into the sunlight. Children ran for the water with their parents yelling after them, while adolescents either went for the water slides or the sand pit. The adults dispersed in several directions, heading to nearly every attraction on the property.

"See anything from the vendors you like?" Rye asked.

"I'm just browsing," Cloud admitted.

"Okay then, do you want to head back?" asked Rye, turning on his heel. "The gang will probably be near the field in a bit."

"Sure," Cloud agreed, following Rye back the way they came. "What field?"

"It's what we call the deep open end," explained Rye eagerly leading his friend back the way they came. "Where the laser games are held all the time. You'll love it."

"If you say so," snickered Cloud, struggling to keep up with Rye.

The otters reached the path that separated the Sand Pit from the pool itself, and turned to walk down it, heading for the deeper end of the pool. They were beginning to get caught behind the crowds that continued to pour from the locker rooms.

"Hurry Benson," screamed a bunny cub while she ran pass the two otters, heading for the Sand Pit playground.

"Wait up," yelled another younger cub, running after the first. "You're going too fast." They were obviously brother and sister.

The two otters quickly made their way to the large open part of the pool, where a crowd was already building. Another several stalls that were responsible for renting out laser gun equipment were stationed between the trees along the pathway.

"I have a class in the morning so I won't be staying too late," the otters overhead an adult lynx saying to a raccoon.

"Ardell is a tough school," replied the raccoon. "Sometimes I don't envy you."

"Rye!"

The otter tried to look over the crowd to see who it was that called him, and he saw a paw waving in the air at him. Fighting through the crowd with Cloud, they joined up with some of their friends.

"Hey Marian," Rye greeted the ferret. Cloud managed to break through the crowd as well and also greeted his friend.

"They're going to have to let us start soon before it gets even more crazy here," commented Marian, looking at the crowd.

"I agree," said Rye. "Have you seen anyone else yet?"

"Shasta was here just a moment ago, but he's so short he probably got swallowed by the crowd," replied Marian.

"I'm not that short," complained Shasta, who broke through the crowd. The very thin squirrel was wearing a tight blue speedo that he somehow managed to get on despite his large fluffy tail. "I went to see what was going on. They want all participants for the tournament to head to the main field while everyone else heads toward Field B."

"What are we going to do?" Cloud asked, looking up at Rye.

"I don't know yet," he said. "Let's see if we can find the others first."

After several minutes, a lifeguard yelled over the crowd for them to split up into the two groups. While the crowd began to divide, Ariel and Patrick were found shortly followed by Nate and a group that he had already gathered.

"So what are we going to do?" asked Nate, almost yelling to speak over the crowd. The group of friends was practically in a huddle just so they could hear each other.

"Let's take a vote," Ariel suggested enthusiastically. "I think we should compete."

"I agree," Patrick supported, putting an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "We'll best any of you."

After a quick vote, with Cloud's abstaining much to the amusement of the others, it was ruled that the team would compete in the tournament. With Ariel leading, the group wandered into a crowd that was roughly beginning to take shape of two lines leading to a couple of temporary booths.

"Form your teams!" yelled the same lifeguard who commanded the crowd to separate. "Present your team member names and team name at the booth."

"Are we all going to be on the same team?" Nate asked, while they got into line behind several other guests.

"I suppose," answered Rye. "What will we name our team though?"

"Don't you always name your team Prodigy, Rye?" asked Ariel.

"Prodigy?" Cloud repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a silly name," said Rye shyly.

"Team Prodigy is just fine," Ariel complained. "It's too late in the day to ask us to be creative. Anyone object to the name?" She glanced around the group while they all shook their heads except for Rye. He rolled his eyes once Ariel smiled and confirmed that Prodigy would be their team name.

"It's a good name, Rye," said Cloud, smiling at him. Rye smiled back, feeling reassured that Cloud appreciated the name.

"How many is on your team?" asked the employee behind the booth as the group finally reached it.

After submitting their information, each person was handed a laser gun, which looked rather real, and a rebreather except for the two otters. Once armed, the group wandered around the crowd and sat on the edge of the pool, hanging their hind paws and for some, their tails in the cool water.

They continued smaller talking among themselves for another few minutes, while the laser tag game drew closer. But when Ariel and Patrick were almost wresting each other, it drew the attention of the whole group.

"Will you two stop playing around?" asked Marvin, who was unlucky enough to be sitting right next to them. "You're going to knock me in."

"What a good idea," said Patrick. Ariel was now sitting on him, pinning him to the ground.

"No," screamed Ariel just as Patrick rolled and pushed Ariel over the edge. She screamed which halted suddenly when she hit the water with a big splash. She sunk several feet before she swam back to the surface and waded there, glaring at Patrick.

The male feline was laughing too hard to really notice. "Sorry Ariel. I couldn't let the opportunity pass me by."

"Well, you're going to pay for that," she replied coldly, grabbed him by the tail and pulled him almost over the edge.

"Wait," exclaimed Patrick, barely catching his grip from the rough tug. "No, Ariel. It's too cold!"

With another yank on his tail, Patrick slid into the water but not before grabbing Marvin and dragging him in too. With a yelp and scream, both of them were instantly submerged. Nate started laughing uncontrollably.

"Patrick!" screamed Marvin once they bother emerged from the water. "Nate, shut up! If you think it's funny then..." A smile spread across his face, and with a swipe of his paw, the wolf was splashed with cold water.

Nate yelped. "You're so dead," he threatened and dived in the pool.

After the entire group was wet or soaked, one of the lifeguards called for the teams to organize and to clear the pool. They weren't the only ones in the water. The water began to ripple with what looked like colored light. The static began to take shape, forming ruined buildings with most of them completely submerged.

"First map is Water City!" yelled the announcer. "Team Jester and Team Cute Monsters go first. Come gather your laser guns and rebreathers." While several of the guests headed back to the booth to get their equipment, the announcer continued, "Twenty minute knock-out rounds, last person swimming wins. If you are not familiar with our holograms, they were semi-solid and you cannot pass through them without certain circumstances, such as drowning."

While the announcer continued, large television screens turned on around the pool, showing different sections of the vacant underwater city. Furred figures started to appear on the screens, as the two teams took their place on the rooftops of half-submerged buildings on opposite ends of the field.

Rye, Cloud, and their friends all watched the field and the television screens of the battle while it continued on. Once the battle was over, they saw Team Cute Monsters advanced one level on the brackets. Team Prodigy was the second to last battle that would play in the first round, and they were up against Team Zealots.

"Team Cute Monsters advance!" the announcer screamed. "Team Leaf and Team Puzzle, please gather your equipment. Water City will be your map!"

Nearly an hour passed before Team Prodigy was called up to compete. The first round always takes the longest.

"Team Lemons advance. Team Prodigy and Team Zealots, gather your gear. Your map is Water World as well."

Rye and his team walked back to an adjacent booth where they signed up for the tournament where the winning team was returning their gear. After an exchange of equipment, Team Prodigy was equipped and ready for the next round.

Team Zealots was also ready and already climbing on their holographic rooftop. Rye stood on Team Prodigy's rooftop, with his laser gun in his paws, examining the competition. He couldn't see who they were, but they looked taller, and older. They must be college students. Cloud stood beside him, looking down in the water at the map. The other members of the team were testing their rebreathers.

"Alright Rye, what do we do?" asked Ariel, once she was satisfied with the gear.

"Go building by building," Rye answered, looking down into the water at the field. "Pair up, and stay with your partner. If you lose your partner, fall back to this base and defend it. Do not engage without proper cover, and if you see another group engaged, try to reinforce them but watch out for an ambush."

"You seem to know your stuff," remarked Cloud, glancing at Rye. The team quickly decided on whom to stick with.

"I've played a lot of games," Rye admitted, crookedly smiling at Cloud. "Want to stick with me? No one else can really keep up."

"Just as long as you don't get me shot," Cloud said, rolling his shoulders.

"We're going to head up the middle to take the central building," said Rye, pointing out toward the middle field to the building that looks most intact. "The other team will probably be rushing for it too, so once we hit that short building, dive down and go slower from there. Shasta and Marvin should have our flanks, but still proceed cautiously."

On the screens, a countdown began. Once it ended, a horn sounded, and both teams dived into the water. Nate and Marian headed almost perpendicular to the direction the otters swam toward, but Shasta and Marvin swam at their flank. Ariel and Patrick were already underneath the surface.

It wasn't long until Rye and Cloud were two thirds of the way to the center building, and that's when Rye led his teammate beneath the surface. Underneath they could see destroyed streets and vehicles on the bottom of the pool. Going straight for the ground, Rye slid behind a car and allowed Cloud to settle down next to him. They looked at each other, and Rye pointed at Cloud and then one side of the street. Then he gestured that he would take the other side of the street while they advance toward the center building. Both of them swam in opposite directions, hiding behind the rubble of the ruins.

The street led directly to the front building, with only cars and the half-collapsed buildings providing cover. The otter slowly swam forward, keeping an eye on the rooftops and the corners of the target building in case the enemy team came from behind it. When they were approximately ten meters away, Rye spotted an enemy swimming to the along the street perpendicular to his own. The enemy disappeared before Rye could take aim however.

A shadow passed over him, and Rye glanced up to see another target team member swim from one rooftop to another. They were being surrounded. The otter took aim on his own teammate and fired in front of him. Cloud looked over at him, confused and surprised by the sudden burst. Pointing up, Rye then gestured that they both bunker down. Retreating underneath the building's ledge, a thought occurred to him; all the enemy had to do was wait for them to run out of air, if they knew that they were without the rebreathers.

Fortunately for the otters, the enemy team decided to come to them. Cloud was the first one to notice, when he checked up toward the surface to see where the team was, he noticed a thin polar bear was diving toward their position. After firing a burst of the harmless lasers at the target, Cloud hit the bear and a bright red mark glowed where the projectile hit, dead center of his chest.

While the bear appeared to be frustrated and swam back toward the surface, the otter retreated back while other team members fired upon him from the submerged rooftops. A firefight has broken out. While the otters were on both sides of the holographic street, the four enemy team members were on either side of the rooftops above them.

Entrenched in the ruins and rubble, the otters had a favorable position while little cover other than the ledge of the buildings protected the Zealots. Rye was able to score a hit on one of them because of it. Checking the rooftops, while being careful to avoid the lasers sinking into the nearby rubble, Rye saw one of the defeated Zealots swim away and the others blindly fired down into the street, aiming at both the otters.

Lasers streamed across the water, parallel to the rooftops however, almost as if they were shooting at each other. The fire aimed for the otters soon halted all together, giving Rye and Cloud the advantage to aim well enough to shoot one of them in the back. The others were already swimming away, with red marks all over them.

Cautiously, the two otters swam toward the surface, guns at point, seeking a fresh breath of air. Once the reached the roof edge, they checked for enemies over it. None were to be seen, but Nate was waiting there instead with a large grin. Marian stood beside him, keeping an eye out for other Zealots. On the other roof, Shasta waved at the otters before he swam toward the center building.

With a crooked smile, Rye continued swimming for the surface. With a splash, he inhaled a fresh breath. Cloud surfaced next to him and inhaled too.

"How many are left?" he asked, wiping water off of his face. "That must have been the whole team just now."

"Two," replied Rye, checking a small screen on his gun that displayed the status of the round. "One... We won."

Both teams swam to the pool's edge and climbed out of the water. Ariel gave a victory cry and commended her teammates. They watched while their team name moved up on the brackets, and the next teams were highlighted to begin another round.

The next set of rounds started to begin, and Team Prodigy wouldn't be up for nearly an hour so they wandered off to the Sand Pit. The two otters eventually decided to just toss around a flying disc, while the others did other activities. Nate and Patrick were the only lazy ones who only wanted to watch the televised matches.

"There is a lot of waiting involved," Cloud remarked. He snatched the thrown disc from the air and prepared to throw it back. "And we didn't do so good."

"We got pinned," Rye said. He caught the disc, just to throw it back again. "Considering we only lost two of our teammates, I think we did alright. The team was a little amateurish to send nearly all of them after us." Without paying attention, the flying disc appeared out of nowhere and ricocheted off of Rye's forehead. "Ow!" Immediately his paw rose to the injured forehead and rubbed it.

"Oh my gosh," exclaimed Cloud, running over to him. "I'm so sorry. I thought you saw it coming."

Wincing in pain, Rye managed a smile and looked up at Cloud. "I'll get you for that." Without notice, Rye pounced on Cloud and they both fell to the ground. The sand tugged on their shorts while they rolled around wrestling one another. Laughing while they wrestled, it didn't take long for Rye to come out on top, sitting on the white otter's back just above the base of the tail, having his paws pinned behind his back.

"Okay, I submit," whined Cloud, his face in the sand. "Let me up."

"I think I'll have a bump there now," said Rye, ignoring Cloud's request. "Say you're sorry then I'll let you up."

Cloud sighed, with dust and sand whishing away from him. "I already did. I'm sorry Rye, I really mean it."

The otter stood back on his hind paws, and took a step back from Cloud, feeling a little guilty himself now. He adjusted his shorts that were pulled well below his hips only a centimeter from becoming too revealing.

"Sorry Cloud," Rye apologized, rubbing his injured forehead again. "I was just playing around."

"I know," he replied with a smile. He was now sitting up adjusting his own shorts. "You're stronger than you look. Now look at me, I don't think I was born with tan fur." Indeed the otter had sand sticking to the majority of his body now.

Rye offered his paw. "Let's go rinse off. I think our next match is coming up soon anyway." Smiling, Cloud accepted.

After a quick rinse most of the sand on the otters was removed, and they met up with their team again to prepare for the next round. Over the course of the long afternoon and evening the group of friends played and competed in the tournament. When they were defeated in the semifinals, the team was actually somewhat relieved to be free of the obligation.

When the sun began to fall behind the tall trees, and sand crawling up their hind paws, most of the members from the team headed back to the locker rooms. The otters, slow to finish their meal, entered the locker room after it was mostly deserted.

Gracefully walking back to his locker, Rye tugged at the rim of his shorts. The sand burrowed in his fur underneath his shorts was starting to irritate his skin. Slipping off his shorts, the otter wrapped a towel around his waist and said, "Sand is embedded in my fur everywhere so I'm going to take a shower in one of the more private stalls."

"Oh where are those?" asked Cloud standing naked beside Rye while he shook out his sandy shorts. "I think I'll need one too if we're going to Ariel's place afterwards."

"I'll show you," said Rye. Once Cloud retrieved his towel, Rye closed the locker door, keeping his eyes straight ahead. He knew Cloud was naked still for another second before the towel was firmly around his waist. The urge to glance over at the otter was overwhelming, and Rye struggled to keep his shifty eyes straight.

One otter followed the other, both headed for the showers.

Around the corner of the showers, open cubicles were found each with a shower nozzle. "These are the private showers," Rye informed. Before he stepped into the closest one, he gestured to the row of the other cubicles.

"'Private' showers without doors," Cloud commented under his breath. He disappeared from view when he stepped behind the wall separating the stalls that both otters now occupied. Both nozzles were soon spraying hot water into the cubicles.

Rye removed his towel, hung it up, and stepped into the stream of water. He ran his paws through his fur, spreading the water all over his body.

"Do you have any soap?"

Startled, Rye stepped back from the water and looked over his shoulder. A naked Cloud was leaning from behind the cubicle wall, his lower body hidden, looking at Rye with wide eyes. His heart raced.

"No sorry," answered Rye the best he could, fighting back his racing heart and invisible blush. He stood absolutely rigid, and Cloud seemed to notice but didn't respond.

"Okay," he said almost nervously and disappeared behind the wall once again.

Returning to facing the shower wall, Rye's thoughts raced as fast as his blood. Distracted heavily by what had just occurred, Rye slowly resumed rubbing the sand out of his fur carelessly. The act of Cloud leaning over like that was not only very teasing, but left many unanswerable questions for Rye which fogged his mind completely from noticing the real world.

An unknown amount of time passed before Cloud's shower turning off. It wasn't until the change of his environment that Rye refocused his attention away from his curious thoughts and hypothesizes. Blinking to clear his eyes, the otter examined his fur and noticed grainy sand still sticking on the end of his furs. Rye inhaled sharply shortly after he noticed that his body's excitement over the incident had taken form of a partial erection.

"Not again," Rye whined under his breath, placing his paws over his groin. His tail curled between his legs in embarrassment before he quickly turned off the shower and immediately placed his towel around his hips.

"I'm going to go get dressed," Cloud said from behind while he walked by.

"Okay," Rye said pretending to fidget with his towel. Fortunately, a few minutes later, the otter had calmed down enough to return to his locker. Cloud was pulling on his shirt by the time Rye reached his locker.

"Sorry, I still had sand in my fur," he admitted bashfully. Clearly there still is sand in his fur. "It is an absolute nightmare to get out of your fur."

"I agree," responded Cloud. He smiled at him, somewhat unconvincingly. "I'm all dressed so I'll go wait in the lobby."

"I'll just be a minute." Cloud passed beyond the exit of the locker rooms. Without taking off his towel, Rye dressed into his dry clothes. His towel dropped to the ground when he pulled up his boxers.

Leaving his sandy shorts in the locker with Cloud's, the dressed otter left the locker room in search of his otter friend. The two otters reunited and began chirping playful conversations with each other, ignoring or forgetting the shower peek by Cloud.

They descended into the parking garage and soon after left the property of Beach Lagoon.