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Dominion AcademyBook 1: OrientationBy: Firesight5/26/2022To Sarah, who initially set me on this path,To Todd, who let me borrow a character and gave encouragement and feedback,To Kelli for the cover art,To Mark and Kevin for being there,To Jeremy for being a good friend,To Matt just for being interested,And to everyone else I know but can’t think to mention…This book is for all of you.This is a work of fiction. All characters and events portrayed within are fictitious.? Sidelight Publishing All rights reserved. TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Foreword: PAGEREF _Toc389049369 \h viPrologue: PAGEREF _Toc389049370 \h 1I.Interview PAGEREF _Toc389049371 \h 18II.Pickup PAGEREF _Toc389049372 \h 40III.Warmup PAGEREF _Toc389049373 \h 60Foreword:Writing this novel was not something I originally intended to do. It sprung from a single drawing that a good friend encouraged me to write a short story about. But what began as a simple exercise in creative writing began spiraling outward, reaching in new directions until I found I'd created a fascinating new world and many interesting characters and concepts to populate it.Some may read this and say it's an allegory for any number of things, but I can't claim to be that clever—the story went where it would and pulled me along for the ride.For those unfamiliar with the anthropomorphic genre, imagine a world where animals evolved as opposed to humans, and history runs parallel to our own. In most stories of the genre, various species get along well and readily form relationships, both personal and professional, with those not of their own kind.Yet it couldn't have always been that way. There has to be some point when rivalries ruled, when people tended to segregate themselves by species—when feline wouldn't associate with canine, rabbit with fox, or lion with hyena. Their competition might have moved from the hunting fields to athletic and business arenas, but would be no less bitter for it. If so, then there has to be a point when all the various species were just beginning to make the effort integrate their societies.But such efforts would undoubtedly meet with resistance, much as they were in our own world. What if one such battleground was high school education and athletics? And what if it happened in the near future?This is story of one such attempt at integration and of a basketball coach who will play a key role—a lioness whose journey will mirror that of her school, its students and instructors… and even the players she coaches.And lest I forget, yes, this is an erotic story; everyone should find something to titillate in its pages. But it is not a grope-a-page sex fest. At its core, this is a coming-of-age tale that is ultimately about self-discovery and growth—of the ties that bind us, the magic of friendship (to borrow a phrase), and the spirit of competition. How life has a way of smacking us upside the head when we least expect it...And ultimately, the choices we make when faced with impossible situations.So enjoy the journey of Kamilya Kampo and her colleagues. And know that nobody in this story is perfect.But all ultimately mean well.—FiresightPrologue:Founded in 1959 in the south suburbs of Denver, Dominion Academy was originally an all-male private high school for red foxes, drawing its student body from the large vulpine population of the city’s southern neighborhoods.Despite an average enrollment of only five hundred students, it quickly established itself as one of the premier secondary schools in the state, boasting a long record of academic and athletic excellence, regularly fielding city and state champions in track, lacrosse, basketball and soccer. Among other innovations, the academy encouraged well-rounded pupils by putting equal emphasis on academics and athletics, requiring all students to be on at least one sports team.With a motto of “The Expectation of Excellence,” Dominion’s standards were high; its application process rigorous. But its name alone was often enough to get students into the college or university of their choice.Times changed, and Dominion changed with them. Two decades after its inception, the school opened its doors to vixens, increasing enrollment to nearly 700. A decade after that, a diversifying community mandated that all vulpine races be admitted; the school adding an additional academic and athletic wing to accommodate a student body that had grown to nearly 1,000. Within a few years, grey, swift, arctic and fennec foxes wore the traditional forest green slacks and dark red jacket of academy students, and were adding their own names to the annals of Dominion academic and athletic achievement.Though previous rounds of integration were not without controversy or tension, they were eventually successful and nothing compared to what was to come.Sixty years after its founding, the venerated academy had fallen upon hard times. As the city expanded, rival vulpine institutions sprung up, including larger Vantage Academy, and ultra-modern Alsant Academy, taking away a significant portion of the school's support. A depressed economy bit further into the academy's donation base, preventing needed repairs and upgrades to its aging, crumbling facilities.Its name alone no longer enough to attract enough students or needed cash, the academy was struggling to remain relevant and keep its doors open. By 2022, it was clear that if new funding and patronage could not be secured quickly, the current crop of students could well be the school’s last.It was then that a group of newly-elected local politicians came to the academy board of trustees with a proposal…An offer of a lifeline that came with one major string attached.Lead Story of Denver City Times — Feb 24, 2022Dominion Academy to IntegrateAcademy Board of Trustees votes 6-3 to begin ‘full and immediate’ species integrationFeb 21—Despite protests and impassioned pleas from students and alumni alike, the Dominion school board voted 6-3 to become the first private or public school in the state to fully integrate, vowing to throw open their doors to students of all species in the coming year, asking only that they meet the rigorous academic standards the school had always required of its applicants. "We do this with a heavy heart, but it is ultimately in the best interests of the school and our community," Jonathan Greyfar, the ranking member of the board, told reporters afterwards. “This decision means that Dominion Academy will be on the cutting edge of education, and I have no doubt they will become a model school for species integration in very short order,” declared recently elected vulpine City Councilfox Aaron Gence.He went on to dismiss as “baseless” suggestions that the board of the financially strapped institution had been bought off with promises of state money, saying that only operating costs and salaries would be paid.The other two major vulpine private schools in the area, Alsant and Vantage Academies, both announced they would absorb what additional students they could, but emphasized there was no way to accommodate all the expected transfer requests. At least one administrator of Vantage Academy, who asked to remain anonymous, stated that she believed no more than two hundred students could be placed at either institution “without compromising our own quality of education.” She went on to note that “perhaps two hundred more” could conceivably be placed at the three other area public or private schools for canids or vulpines, but it would be step down in education quality for them, and a “massive inconvenience all around…”Denver City Times, Page A1 — Apr 13, 2022Dominion Academy to be Filled with Public School StudentsFailure to attract enough applicants necessitates move, Gence saysApr 13—In a decision that quickly drew howls of protests from parents across the county, it was announced that newly integrated Dominion Academy would be filled with selected students from nearby public schools.“This decision was made necessary by the surprisingly low interest level in transferring to Dominion,” a written statement from Councilfox Gence’s office said. Off the record, Academy administrators admitted that they had received less than a dozen applications. When asked how students would be selected to go to Dominion, Gence said 500 students would be chosen at random from public schools across the county, based on species quotas. In response to objections from academy board members that the move would result in lower academic standards at the institution, Gence brushed aside such concerns as “unwarranted,”saying he had “absolute confidence in the faculty” to bring the new students up to speed. As to complaints from potentially affected students and their parents, he pointed out that they had no cause to complain as their “tuition and bussing would be paid for in full,” and that their children would be “going to a prestigious institution,” adding that the “lucky” parents and students should in fact be grateful for the opportunity he was giving them. His comments provoked outrage and accusations of arrogance. “We didn’t vote for this!” was heard from the audience more than once during the latest city council meeting and at least one incensed equine parent was heard to demand whether the Councilfox would send his own kits to Dominion.Gence ignored the jibe, later saying that “parents know what is best for their children while I know what is best for my community. In time, all will come to see that this is for the best.”Lead story, South Hills Spectator, page A1 — May 10, 2022Dominion Lawsuits DismissedMay 10—Ruling that the city council had not acted improperly; a state judge lifted a stay on ordering selected students to Dominion Academy, saying the courts had no authority to prevent the move. In dismissing the case, Judge Verselt emphasized that he “sympathized” with affected families, but “redress only lies with local government or state legislature.”The dismissal means that integration can go forward as planned, and will result in students being bussed into the formerly private academy from across the county at taxpayer expense.Councilfox Aaron Gence was pleased by the ruling, releasing a statement that said in part, “the judge in this matter acted correctly as a matter of law, and recognized that we are simply doing our duty as elected officials to both improve the quality of education and serve the purpose of societal advancement in our city.“I ask now that all parents and students no longer look to the past but to the future, and try to appreciate this for the wonderful opportunity it is...” Denver City Times, page A1 — Sept 6, 2022First Day at Dominion Marred by Boycotts, BrawlSept 3—The opening day of school at newly-integrated Dominion Academy was marked by protests, anger, and a major gym brawl between feline and canine students that resulted in a least a dozen injuries, including two faculty. In addition, at least a hundred students—all vulpine—staged a walkout during the first period, disrupting classes. Later in the day a fire alarm was rung. Councilfox Gence asked for patience, noting that the school had had rough times during the previous rounds of integration, two and three decades earlier. Critics were quick to point out, however, that in those instances new students were attending voluntarily, while this time hundreds were bussed in from all across the county, forced to attend Dominion against their will...Lead local story, South Hills Spectator, page B1 — Oct 6, 2022Dominion Academy: On the Brink of Anarchy?School situation deteriorates further as Gence pleads for ‘patience and understanding’Oct 3--A month into the start of the school year, the results of the great experiment of species integration at Dominion Academy can only be described as disastrous. Vandalism and interspecies violence are rampant, fights and fire alarms occur daily, and there are even rumors of species-based packs and gangs being formed among the students, targeting rival races. Many parents, particularly those of herbivores, are now withholding their children from going to the academy, fearful for their safety, and have demanded police protection before they return.The Dominion Headmaster reported he could not afford to hire private security, but had asked the local sheriff’s office to step up their presence in and around the school, promising redoubled efforts and a crackdown on troublemakers. For his part, Councilfox Aaron Gence again pleaded for ‘patience and understanding’, blaming a ‘few hooligans’ for the problems of the school, refusing to admit that there were any systemic problems and claiming “the vast majority of the students just want to learn.”At least one Dominion faculty member was heard to scoff at that, retorting that “the vast majority of the students just want to leave. If [Gence] thinks the students want to be here, let him come and speak to them directly. But as mad as he’s made them, we can’t guarantee his safety if he does.”Transcript: KDFX Foxwitness News, 10pm news — Oct 19, 2022Fawn:Good evening, everyone. I’m Awentia Fawn, Foxwitness news. Our lead story tonight is a tragic one, coming from increasingly troubled Dominion Academy. For more, we go live to Vanguard Hospital, where our own Gail Sayen has been covering the story all day. Gail:Thank you, Awentia. Earlier today, Janette Kalpar, a freshpaw snow leopard, was found in a girls’ locker room slumped under a running shower in a pool of her own blood, her wrists slashed in an apparent suicide attempt. She was immediately rushed here to Vanguard Hospital, where she remains in critical condition as of this hour. Fawn:Gail, is it known that she attempted suicide, or is that only speculation?Sayen:Well, the doctors and police investigators we talked to said the wounds appeared self-inflicted and there was no evidence of foul play. However, nobody could offer an explanation as to why she would try to take her own life, friends and family calling her a wonderful, warm person full of life and hope.Fawn:Yes, we’ve heard that she was in fact one of the few voluntary transfers into the integrated private school?Sayen:That’s very true, Awentia. In fact, one of the words we heard used to describe her over and over was ‘idealistic’. We’re told she was one of the biggest student voices in support of integration.Fawn:Thank you, Gail. That was Gail Sayen, on the scene at Vanguard Hospital. Further details as to this incident remain very sketchy, and repeated calls to the Dominion Headmaster, board of trustees, and faculty were not returned...”Lead Local Story, Denver City Times, Page B1 — Oct 21, 2022. Dominion Expels 70 StudentsSnow leopard teen’s attempted suicide sparks crackdownOct 19--In the wake of the attempted suicide of freshpaw Janette Kalpar, Dominion Acad-emy expelled seventy students for their roles in harassment, brawls and vandalism over the previous two months. Another fifty students were given two-week suspensions but would be allowed to return. Observers noted that most of the expellees were former public school students, but two dozen were pre-integration Academy foxes.When reached for comment, many of the former students claimed they were made scapegoats for the failures of integration and emphasized that they had not wanted to be there in the first place. By city policy, expulsion carries the additional weight of not being allowed to return to any public school for a full year, forcing expelled students to repeat their current grade. But few expressed any regret at leaving Dominion regardless of the terms under which they did.In face-to-face interviews, many showed the bruises and scars of multiple fights. None would admit to being in packs or gangs, and most claimed they had only fought in self-defense. “They were not scapegoats… they were expelled because they were the primary instigators of the violence and gang activity, and contributed to an environment that drove a young girl to suicide,” the Dominion Headmaster insisted, adding “We have removed them for the good of the school and the safety of our students.” He went on to say that there was now a zero-tolerance policy in effect for fighting or any misbehavior, and those who broke the rules would be “severely punished.”Unanimously, neither the former students nor their parents expected Dominion to survive much longer, and in the words of one angry mother, "nor do they deserve to. The place should be burned down and its ashes turned into a monument to the folly of politicians’ good intentions.”Midtown Post Magazine, page 16 — Nov 21, 2022 issueDominion Academy Football Team Finishes 0-10Nov 18--The newly-integrated Dominion Academy football team closed out a miserable inaugural season before empty home stands with a 72-0 defeat at the paws of the Goldcrest Pride. The all-leonine team led 42-0 at halftime and added four second-half touchdowns with their second-string unit before the final gun, running their record to 7-3 and gaining a playoff berth. For the Dominion Dragoons, the defeat was the worst in team history and third-worst in the annals of state play. Dominion's team was outscored 596-38 over the course of the 10-game season, setting many records for offensive and defensive futility. Although two assistant coaches and a trainer were dismissed following the loss, the school administration resisted demands from Dominion alumni that the entire coaching staff be fired, including rookie tiger head coach Peter Jermanovic, a former pro linebacker for the Cincinnati Stalkers and offensive coordinator at South Mesa College in Nevada. “He was given an impossible task and did what he could with it. He retains my confidence and will return next year,” the Dominion Headmaster promised. Denver City Times, Sports section, page C4 — Jan 10, 2023. Longtime Dominion Basketball Coach FiredFranklin Forrest blames school admin, claims dismissal was politicalJan 9--The latest in a series of staff dismissals or resignations to rock troubled Dominion Acad-emy occurred when the twenty-year coach of the Dominion Girls' Varsity Basketball team, Franklin Forrest, was fired despite having amassed nearly 350 wins, three city champ-ionships and two state titles over his long career. The dismissal of the popular red fox, one of the academy’s most celebrated alumni, came on the heels of his integrated team's closest loss of the season, 44-37 to the mediocre West Canyon Catamounts, dropping their record to 0-15. When interviewed by phone, Forrest had nothing but bitter-ness and criticism to offer, calling what had happened to the school over the previous year “a disgrace to the name and traditions of Dominion”, blast-ing the academy board and “meddling politicians” alike. However, he saved his heaviest salvos for the school’s Headmaster, claiming his firing was politically motivated and that his former friend was “complicit in the ruination of the greatest school this city has ever known.” Forrest promised that he would coach again, and there were indications all-vulpine Alsant Academy had interest in him.When asked pointedly why a longstanding vulpine basketball coach with a winning record was dismissed while a winless rookie feline football coach who oversaw the worst season in school history was retained, the academy’s increasingly beleag-uered Headmaster would only give a succinct and somewhat cryptic reply: “Peter Jermanovic tried to win. Franklin Forrest tried to not.”Lead Story, Aspire Feline Prep Weekly, Page 1 — Feb 8, 2023Aspire Prep Girls’ Basketball Team Makes PlayoffsKamilya Kampo Named Coach of the YearFeb 8—Riding a six-game winning streak, including upsets of two top-20 city teams, the Aspire Feline Prep girls’ basketball team defeated Vale Husky Prep 66-55 to run their record to 20-6, notching a twenty-win season and making the metro playoffs for the first time in school history. 27-year old lioness Kamilya Kampo, the youngest head coach in conference history, was widely credited with the stunning turn-around and named Coach of the Year in only her third season by multiple athletic organizations.“I’m flattered, but the real credit goes to my girls,” she said, trying to deflect praise onto her mixed-feline team. “They’ve played their hearts out to get here, and we’re not done yet, either,” she added, further promising that they would make a deep run in the 24-team metro tournament…Lead Local Story, Denver City Times, Page B1 — Feb 21, 2023. Integration at Dominion: Year OneA look backFeb 21—One year after integration was announced to much hope and fanfare, its future—as well as that of Dominion Academy—is bleak.By any measure, integration has been an abysmal failure, both academically and athletically. On the playing fields, the Academy’s integrated sports teams have thus far failed to deliver even a single win, usually enduring lopsided losses while playing before empty stands. More than once has it been noted the Dominion players seem more interested in going after each other than the opposing teams. Academically, test scores and GPA fell off sharply. In fairness, some of this is due to the unexpected inclusion of public students and the need for remedial classes that the academy simply did not have the staff or space to provide, dragging the quality of classroom instruction down across the board. However, that is not the primary reason for the struggles, as one frustrated Academy instructor observed: “How can they expect us to teach anything when the students don’t respect us, each other, or the school?” As a result, through expulsions, withdrawals, and simple academic attrition, the academy’s enrollment has fallen by nearly 150 students since the beginning of the year, and further losses seem likely before the year is out.The Dominion faculty has been similarly affected, as nearly a third have been fired or quit in frustration or disgust. Regardless of the circumstances in which they left, all have said that the integration of the school was grossly mishandled and they could not support it any longer. The only good news out of Dominion thus far is that the violence and vandalism that marked the early part of the year have ended for the most part, thanks to earlier expulsions and the school’s new zero-tolerance policy for fights or rule breaking. Continued on page B4INTEGRATION from page B1Many have noted that the shock of the freshpaw snow leopard Janette Kalpar’s attempt-ed suicide seemed to be the turning point in bringing the previously-rampant violence and vandalism under control. However, a simple walk through the school grounds show that tensions remain not far beneath the surface. “You can see it in the halls, you can see in the eyes of the students,” cheerleading coach Serena Jinai said. “They segregate themselves by species in the cafeterias and in classrooms. Outside of those racial cliques, they don’t like each other, they don’t want to like each other, and they resent the hell out being forced into this… given no say in coming here.”Vulpine Councilfox Aaron Gence, the original champion of integration, deflected any responsibility for the debacle, laying the blame on the staff and administration of the academy. “The Headmaster and faculty were not devoted to the ideals of integration and refused to do what was necessary to make it succeed,” he claimed when reached by phone.When asked about Gence’s comments, ranking Academy board of trustees member Jonathan Greyfar responded caustically: “The Councilfox is welcome to his opinions. But he fails to mention one simple fact: Neither we nor the Headmaster ever agreed to uprooting public school students in order to fill out our student body, or to watering down our academic standards to do so.” He sidestepped a question about why the board did not resist the decision originally, stating only that they were misled. He also declined to discuss the future of the Academy’s embattled Headmaster, saying only that “the board appreciates well what he has done and the difficult circumstances he has labored under.”Regardless of who is to blame, there is widespread agreement that Dominion’s great experiment of species integration is a failure and will have a chilling effect on any possible integration efforts in the future. And perhaps the ultimate irony is that the concept that was supposed to save the once-venerable institution of Dominion Academy now appears to be certain to doom it.Lead Story, Aspire Feline Prep Weekly, Page 1 — Mar 23, 2023Kamilya Kampo ResignsA month after a narrow 58-57 loss in the metro tournament semifinals to top-seeded Aspen Glen, Kamilya Kampo surprised her team and the school by announcing her resignation as head coach of the Aspire Prep girls’ basketball team, citing a desire for a new challenge. “I did what I set out to do: the Aspire basketball program is back on its feet, attracting interest and recruits, and these girls are now ready to play at the next level themselves,” she said in an interview, noting the head coach position was passing to her primary assistant coach, 33-year old leopardess Lisanne Wycalle. “Lisanne is a good coach, she’s popular with the girls and is ready for the additional responsibility. “I wouldn’t recommend her if I didn’t think she could do the job,” Kampo stated, taking every opportunity she could to praise her assistant and her team. “Sure, I could stay, but I’d just be hogging the glory. They don’t need me to win the championship.”Though hired with little fanfare three years earlier, she was feted to a farewell dinner by school administration and tearful farewells from her team, many of whom would now be moving on to play collegiately thanks to their coach’s efforts.Several area high schools, including all-lion Goldcrest Academy, were said to be interested in the services of the brilliant young leonine coach, a former collegiate all-star until a knee injury ended her playing career…Lead local story, Denver City Times, Page B1 — May 6, 2023. Dominion Academy to Remain OpenBoard votes 6-3 to continue under existing charterMay 2—To the surprise of many who had predicted the end of the experiment of integration at Dominion if not the end of the school itself, the Dominion Acad-emy board of trustees voted 6-3 to continue to exist as an integrated school through at least the end of the next school year, fulfilling the remainder of their two-year charter. Observers were stunned by the decision after the debacle of the previous year, and many students and parents were dis-appointed, hoping they could return to their previous schools.But there was support for integration in surprising quarters as well, as many instructors and coaches stepped forward to ask the board for another year, and likewise spoke up on behalf of school’s beleaguered Headmaster, asking the board to retain him. “He held us and the school together. He stood by us no matter what. He had the worst job imaginable and somehow got us all through,” said tiger head football coach Peter Jermanovic.“The student body didn’t integrate, but somewhere along the line, the staff did,” added Tabitha Leystar, an ocelot soccer coach.Support for this decision from the Dominion staff was hardly unanimous, as another sixteen faculty members—all vulpine—announced their resignations when the decision was made. “We held out in the hopes that school would return to its traditional identity. But it is now clear that we have no place here, and we have no wish to ever go through a year like the last one again,” said boys varsity basket-ball coach Glenn Ohari, a fennec who had been on staff for a decade.After the vote was made, the Headmaster rose to address the board and the assembled staff. He thanked them for their loyalty and efforts “in the most inconceivable situations imaginable,” promising their perseverance would yet be rewarded. “My friends, let us try again, and this time do it right,” he said at the conclusion of his brief remarks.Councilfox Aaron Gence could not be reached for comment.InterviewWednesday, July 19, 2023 “Well, Miss Kampo, your resume is impeccable, your references excellent, and your coaching and playing history certainly speak for themselves,” said the small middle-aged fox sitting behind the oak desk. squinting through his glasses as he thumbed slowly through the resume in front of him. “Thank you, sir,” was the succinct response of the 28-year old lioness sitting across the desk from him, awaiting the inevitable but. She didn’t have long to wait. “But forgive my curiosity…” he said in a rich, cultured voice, removing his glasses and placing them in the left breast pocket of his dark red suit jacket, lounging back in his plush chair. “I was very surprised to receive your application, given you could coach at any leonine high school, public or private, you wished. You could even be a collegiate assistant and, in time, work your way up to a head coaching position at a major feline university.” He looked directly at her, probing the lioness with his slitted vulpine eyes. “So why would you want to coach here, at Dominion Academy?”Kamilya Kampo shifted uncomfortably in her chair, which wasn’t really big enough for her large, eight-foot tall, four hundred pound body. It was a question the lioness had asked herself often enough but still didn’t have a satisfactory answer to. She considered making something up, but immediately squelched that idea—she wasn’t willing to lie to get the position, and sensed the canny fox Headmaster would see right through her if she did. The lioness looked away, out the Headmaster’s large office window for a moment, trying to gather her thoughts. “If I’m honest, the truth of the matter is, I’m not even sure myself.” She turned back to face him directly. “This just feels… right for me somehow. I’ve felt tugged here ever since I heard the position was open.” She opened her paws. “It feels like this is where I need to be.” “I see,” he answered without any inflection or hint of what he was thinking, slitted amber eyes probing her blue ones. The Academy’s Headmaster was a red fox in his mid-fifties, an academy alumni; valedictorian of the Dominion class of 1978 according to the diploma on his office wall. He was a small even for a red fox, standing just five-foot-nine, and was dressed in the official academy Headmaster’s uniform: forest green slacks, white dress shirt, black vest with gold buttons, and his dark red Headmaster’s jacket with gold cufflinks and the insignia of Dominion Academy over the left breast pocket. But despite his small stature, he had a commanding presence—there was cunning and intelligence behind his gaze, and the lioness found his scrutiny disquieting. “Then tell me this. What is your position on species integration—on what we’re trying here?” Kamilya carefully gathered herself again, knowing I’m not really sure was not an acceptable answer this time. “I could say I think it’s admirable, I could say I think it’s very high-minded and noble of you, I could say that I want to be on the side of progressiveness and societal advancement....” She waited a beat for his arched eye ridge to indicate he didn’t believe a word of it. “But as you’ve already detected, that would be a lie. In truth, sir, part of me recoils at the thought of what you’re doing, and I even find myself feeling resentment at the fact that I’m sitting here, being interviewed by a fox.”He remained silent as she took a deep breath and continued. “But it’s also true that I’ve come to believe that this needs to be done, and the reason for that is simply what I’ve observed and experienced these past few years.”The Headmaster opened his clasped paws. “Do explain.”The lioness clasped her own paws in her lap, took another breath and looked out the large window of the Headmaster’s office, remembering. “I was raised, sir, to believe myself and my species above all others,” she told him, forcing her eyes to return to his. “And throughout my cubhood, there was nothing to teach me otherwise. I lived in an affluent leonine neighborhood in New Mexico, went to all-lion private schools and was barely exposed to other species until I reached college.“So when I got there… the end result was that I was an arrogant bigot who couldn’t see past genus or even species, who judged people based whether or not they had a tasseled tail,” she admitted. “Needless to say, it was quite a culture shock to me, just being among the other big cats who attended Canyon State University in Arizona,” she told him, shaking her head in remembered regret. “I didn’t make many friends at first, and my collegiate career went nowhere… until I learned the hard lesson that being a lioness did not mean I was inherently superior, either as a person or a basketball player.”Kamilya continued, growing in confidence as she related what she’d learned. “Then when I coached for the first time, it happened all over again. My mixed-feline team at Aspire also went nowhere at first, and it took me the better part of two seasons to finally figure out why,” she told him. The Headmaster simply listened, eyes and ears focused on her, paws clasped in front of him. “You see, sir, unlike my college squad, this was a truly mixed feline team, consisting of big and small cats alike. It was another culture shock, made even worse by the fact that this time I was coaching, not playing—that it was my responsibility to somehow bring them together and forge a team out of them,” she emphasized. She waited for him to nod his understanding before she went on. “At first, I tried to do the ‘enlightened’ thing—treat everyone equally; give everyone the same training regimen. But that didn’t work because, as is obvious to me now, different species have different abilities, strengths and needs. “Eventually, I figured out how to use that to our advantage—combine the quickness of the smaller cats with the strength and size of the bigger ones; found places and plays for everyone that maximized species advantages and covered for weaknesses,” she explained. “And yet… even that wasn’t enough for anything more than mediocrity… until I also learned to look past their species, see them as people—I mean, not as lions, tigers, caracals and lynxes, but as Janice, Tamasha, Inca… you get the idea. “Once I did that—once I stopped trying to force my players into some imagined species mold and started coaching based on individual strengths and needs, my team began to coalesce and win,” the lioness told him, sitting up taller in her seat, back stiffening with well-earned pride. She turned her eyes back to the vulpine Headmaster. “And so, sir… I’ve now seen what even a partially integrated team could do: their potential sum was far greater than their parts; they could win games and beat single-species teams they shouldn’t have been able to. And that got me thinking. I mean, if that’s true… what does that say about our partially segregated societies? What are we sacrificing by remaining apart, staying in our species-specific schools and neighborhoods?” she wondered out loud. “We generally keep students of different species apart until they reach college, and even then, it’s only integrated along genus or species family lines. We claim that this is to make sure they have the maturity to be among other species before they start mingling with them,” she mused. “But does it do that? Or does it ultimately—as was the case with me—just reinforce species stereotypes and rivalries; end up making it that much harder for us to relate to and work with other races?”Kamilya looked up and realized the Headmaster was listening intently to her, leaning forward with his chin propped on the interwoven fingers of his paws, the barest hint of a smile on his face. “I-I’m sorry, sir. I’m rambling.” “Not at all. A very intriguing and compelling story indeed,” the older fox replied before giving her a very deliberate—and dismissive—shrug. “Still, that’s all well and good, but you do realize that our teams, being fully integrated, have very little chance of being successful in the near term, don't you?” he challenged, leaning back in his chair, watching her closely. “So why even bother, especially after as poorly as they performed last year?”The lioness had certainly expected the question or something close to it, but not the matter-of-fact nature with which it was delivered. “I don’t accept that and with all due respect, Headmaster, neither should you,” she said reproachfully, though she sensed he was testing her again. “If you—I—go into this with that attitude, the team will believe it as well, and will never improve—will never even try.” Kamilya let the barest amount of annoyance and anger seep into their voice. “If you want integration to succeed, you have to go in with the attitude that yes, it can work, if you are willing to stick with it and give it everything you’ve got. “And I give you my word I am. I want this to succeed, and I want the challenge of making it happen, at least on the basketball court.” The Headmaster nodded slowly, now smiling openly. “You're hired.” Kamilya blinked her deep blue eyes, surprised. “Just like that?”“Just like that,” he confirmed, signing her application and reaching into his desk. “Aside from the fact that you're easily the most qualified of our candidates, your story and mindset are exactly what I want on staff here. I also appreciate the fact you weren’t afraid to speak your mind and gave it to me straight.” He continued to rummage, finally pulling something free and scribbling on it. “I respect that greatly, Miss Kampo. And finally, you're also the only one who's shown any real desire to try and make a team out of these girls,” he told her, pushing a sheet of paper across the table at her. To her surprise, it was an offer sheet, awaiting only the Headmaster’s signature, which he had just affixed. Did he think he was going to hire me even before we interviewed?The lioness hesitated in taking it. “Sir, I… should advise you that not an hour before I came here, I also received an offer from Goldcrest Academy,” she informed him, embarrassed. She hadn’t expected to be offered a job on the spot, and the offer sheet was for a salary a sixth less than from the leonine prep school.He cocked his head to the side, giving her a slightly askance look. “I see. And may I ask what the offer was?”Reluctantly, she named the figure. The older fox shook his head. “I’m afraid I can’t match that,” he told her. “Or rather, I could, but I will not for two reasons. First, it would be grossly unfair to our other head coaches—particularly our returning ones. Second, and more importantly—for you to work here, it must be because you want to, not because of your pay rate. I only want those on staff who believe in the cause on integration, and are not here for the money or to make a name for themselves.“To speak of lessons learned, that is something I had to learn the hard way last year,” he said, slightly wanly. “For these reasons, I can only offer you the same pay as our other head coaches plus our standard benefits package, which includes merit-based awards. However, I do not wish this to be a factor in your decision,” he told the lioness. “Working here must be something you want to do, Miss Kampo, out of a belief in integration and the promise this academy may yet hold.”Kamilya nodded her understanding, feeling chagrined. Certainly can’t argue with his reasons, she thought as the red fox went on. “I will ask you now to not accept or decline the offer immediately. The job is yours if you wish it; I will hold it open up to two weeks for you. But please decide carefully,” he admonished her. “In the meantime, if you have any questions, do not hesitate to call me,” he told the lioness, passing her his business card.She nodded, bowed down respectfully to clasp forearms with him, thanked him for his time and left. It was only after she left the building and got in her truck that the lioness noticed that her two topmost blouse buttons had come undone, exposing significantly more cleavage than she had intended. Oops, she winced, realizing as she refastened them that she’d probably given the older fox an eyeful when she bent over to clasp forearms. Fuck. Just hope he didn’t think that was intentional…*****************Friday, July 28, 2023A week later, Kamilya found herself once again sitting across from the Headmaster in his office.As before, the lioness was well-attired in her interview suit: white pinstriped business slacks (sans belt, which she had somehow misplaced since the previous interview), snap-up white sleeveless blouse with wide shoulder straps that opened into a truncated U at the top of her chest (which she’d triple-checked was fully fastened), and a blue pinstripe dress blazer that buttoned beneath her bust and accented the blue of her eyes. The ensemble was completed by a class ring pendant on a thin chain around her neck and a pair of clip-on gold hoop earrings dangling from the base of each lobe. With the exception of the pendant, it was nothing she normally wore. The lioness had already told the Headmaster over the phone she was ready to take the job, but thought she should at least present herself well for the formal acceptance. She also had some questions she wanted answered before she did.During the past week, Kamilya had searched online and reviewed some news articles of Dominion’s previous year. They did not paint a promising picture—forced busing, involuntary attendance of public school students, massive staff turnover and very poor athletic and academic performance, all capped by a violence-and-vandalism-filled start to the previous year that culminated in a freshpaw feline’s suicide attempt and mass expulsions of supposed gang members. In contrast, Goldcrest offered more pay, much newer facilities, and an established, stable program. The student body consisted of the cream of city’s leonine population; it offered the chance to coach and develop young lionesses for collegiate play—perhaps even help them avoid the pitfalls Kamilya had encountered at their age. By any measure Goldcrest was the logical career choice, and the lioness knew she could very easily find success there. And yet… it just seems like in taking that job I’d somehow be going backwards, she sensed as she lay in her bed one evening. Like I’d just be reinforcing the very things I told the Headmaster were bad. She’d also been impressed by the fact that the Dominion staff—those that remained, anyway—had themselves requested another chance to make integration work. And no matter how much she turned it over in her head, the lioness kept coming back to that. They must believe in it for a reason, especially after everything they went through. And finally, regardless of the many tangible advantages coaching at Goldcrest had, her gut instincts—if not her very heart—kept pointing her towards Dominion. The lioness had no idea why she felt so strongly tugged there, but could not deny its pull on her psyche. I wanted a challenge, this is where I’ll find my biggest one, was the only answer that found any resonance within her, but even that seemed horridly incomplete somehow—as if it was true but still missing the point entirely. Lacking internal answers, it had ultimately come down to a realization that if she truly believed what she told the Headmaster about integration, then she had to walk the walk—learn to work with and coach non-felines; help to make integration a reality. And therefore, Dominion was where she belonged. Which is not to say there aren’t some things I’d like clarified, she reminded herself. “I did some research,” she told the Headmaster after their initial greeting and they had both sat down, the lioness crossing her legs and resting her paws on a knee, glancing down once at her chest to make sure her blouse was still fully fastened. “I know last year did not go well, but I read in a news article that you told the staff you wanted to ‘try again and do it right’,” she quoted. “So if I may ask, sir… what is ‘doing it right’ and what lessons were learned from last year?”The older red fox nodded slowly. He stared down at his desk for a moment, considering his words carefully. “The papers only tell part of the story,” he began. “I would say that we learned that we cannot do this halfheartedly or with half-measures, cannot hold out for a return to a past that is now lost to us… and cannot accomplish this with a staff or school board that are uncommitted to this course,” he told her somewhat cryptically, a bare note of regret in his voice. He turned his slitted amber eyes back to her. “There is more, but for the time being, I would simply ask that you trust me when I tell you that we will begin implementing the lessons we learned shortly,” he offered. “My apologies for being coy, Miss Kampo. I promise you will understand why in due time,” he added, upon seeing she was unsatisfied with his initial answer.Kamilya had the passing thought that foxes were always needlessly indirect and mysterious, but she immediately quashed it, reminding herself to stop stereotyping and give him a chance to keep his word. “Very well, Headmaster. You have yourself a new girls’ basketball coach.”He grinned and bowed his head to her in acknowledgment, passing her a small binder across the desk. “Welcome aboard, my dear. You spoke of wanting a challenge; you're going to get it. Here's your varsity team's current roster, plus stat sheets and comments from last year's assistant coach.” The lioness scanned the pages quickly—he’s not kidding, she quickly realized—when something about his last statement clicked: assistant coach? “Forgive me for asking, sir… what happened to my predecessor?” The Headmaster’s eyes narrowed. “I fired him,” he stated simply. “Franklin Forest was our vixen varsity basketball coach for nearly twenty years. We had many winning seasons and took two state titles under him. But he never agreed with the decision to integrate the academy and once we did he was content to see the team fail,” he said, stifling a low growl at the betrayal of a fox he once called his friend. “He was a bigot. He helped the vulpine players at the expense of the others, and in the two games last year when it looked like the team might be able to win, he deliberately pulled his best players because they were not foxes. The second time he did it, I fired him that very night.” Kamilya considered that. “Your assistant coach clearly didn’t agree with that. Why not promote her?” He arched an eye ridge. “I did. In the interim, for the last three weeks of the season. But to be blunt… Monique Greyfar was not up to the task. The girls did not respect her, and she did not want the position anyway. In short, she’s a biology teacher, not a basketball coach.” Kamilya nodded, satisfied with the answer. The Headmaster leaned across the table. “Miss Kampo… Kamilya… I’m not going to lie to you. Your work is cut out for you,” he continued, pursing his forepaws. “So before you sign your acceptance to this contract, I want you to understand what you’re getting into… and what it could cost you,” he told her, ominously. “This is only our second year of integration. As you well know, our first did not go well at all, and if we do not turn things around, there will not be a third… in fact; there will no longer be a Dominion. If that happens, you can be certain that it will hurt—or even end—the careers of those who were associated with its failure,” he warned her. The lioness nodded slowly as the Headmaster went on. “We’re betting everything we have left on making integration work this year. Unfortunately, just like your predecessor, there are many, both inside and outside the school, who want this experiment to fail and will work actively to undermine it.” He shook his head and removed his glasses, starting at her through wrinkled eyes over a grayish-cast muzzle that looked too old for his age—the mark of someone who had fought far too many such battles already. “I’ll give you all the support I can. But come in with a thick pelt, and be prepared for various… distractions. Even possible sabotage,” he concluded, leaning back in his chair. “That being said… any further questions?”“One,” she replied after a beat, wondering why the odd hesitation before ‘distractions’. “How badly do you want this team to succeed?” He looked taken aback. “What kind of question is that? I want all our teams to succeed.” “I’ll rephrase—how badly do you want a winner? Any winner?” The Headmaster shifted uncomfortably. His lip twitched, along with his long tail. “Badly enough,” he said, shaking his head slowly, then got up and walked in front of his big bay window, looking out over the academy grounds, clasping his paws behind his back. “Our faculty is in disarray. Our students have no school spirit or unity. We need something—anything—for the students and staff to rally around. A winning team, I believe, would go a long way towards providing that.” Kamilya nodded. “I’ll do my best to give you one. But I do have some requests.”He turned back to her and spread his paws, leaning back against the front of his desk. “Name them.”“I need three things,” the lioness ticked off her fingers. “First, practice time and lots of it—minimum of three hours a day. Second, the authority to punish or reward the girls if needs be—detention, suspension, whatever. I need to know that the administration has my back and won’t overrule me on discipline matters. And third, on at least a couple occasions I’d like to pull the girls out of school and go on field trips.”The older fox’s eyes narrowed—he was clearly not used to being dictated to, particularly in the confines of his own office. “With regards to the first, academics are primary. I cannot give you carte blanche to hold practice whenever you wish. You’ll have to make do with the same schedule we always use—basketball practices begin in November, two hours a day after school, four days a week outside of game days.” She grinned at him, showing her large teeth. “Then simply shuffle their class schedules so they all have the same gym period with me as their teacher, and that will be the third hour of practice.” He looked up, surprised, running his fingers through his white chin fur for a moment before nodding slowly. “No guarantee that’s possible, but I’ll try,” he said, grabbing a pad and writing a note down. “As to the second…” he continued as he wrote, “as an instructor and coach, you have the authority to mete out minor punishments, demerits and detentions as you see fit. That’s not a problem. But rulings on more severe punishments such as suspension or expulsion reside with me,” he looked up and told her, pursing his paws. “However, as long as you’re fair, I give you my word that I will not overrule you without extremely good cause.” She nodded. “As to the third… why would you want to do that, and where would you take them?” The lioness shrugged. “I can’t say yet. It’s going to depend on what I think the girls need to do or see.” She clasped her paws in her lap. “I need to get a feel for my players first. I will say that we will probably take the first trip sometime in October, before the season begins.” She saw doubt in his eyes at not giving him a straight answer. “On this matter, I simply you ask you trust me, Headmaster. When the time comes, I promise to explain my reasoning.” The vulpine looked at her a while longer, probing. She met his slit-eyed gaze evenly if a little uncomfortably, noting that it was a rare day that a fox, particularly one as small as the Headmaster, could stare her down. But his presence was far in excess of his physical size and she had already gained considerable respect for him, having seen firstpaw what the stress was doing to him, yet also seeing he was persevering in spite of the intense pressure he was under. I wonder if that’s going to be me in a year, she worried, finally deciding that if he was willing to do it—to say nothing of the returning staff—she could offer no less. Finally, he nodded and rose out of his chair, extending his paw across the table. “Done. Welcome to Dominion Academy… Coach Kampo,” he said with a smile as they clasped forearms, the lioness self-conscious about bending over too far. “Allow me to give you the nickel tour.” *****************Over the next hour, the Headmaster showed Kamilya the entire school; the lioness couldn’t help but note—with approval—real affection in his voice as he related various anecdotes, many from his own student days. Though initially only listening to him out of politeness, the lioness was surprised to find herself laughing at some of the tales he told as they toured the grounds, first inside, then out. Internally, Dominion Academy was laid out in an oblique L-shape with the two equal-sized two-story wings 120 degrees apart, each ending in a T-shape—Kamilya estimated it was probably nearly a quarter-mile to walk the building end to end. At the truncated apex of the L was the main entrance, which led to a large open, atrium-like area full of trophy cases and championship banner displays hanging from overhead rafters—a very long and impressive list of academic and athletic accolades earned by vulpine Dominion before integration. Branching off to the right of the atrium was the academic wing, while to the left were the student and staff cafeterias followed by the athletic wing, capped by the larger of the two school gyms. The academy’s administrative offices were located on the second floor to the right side of the atrium, looking out over it, while the academy’s main competition gym/assembly area was directly in back of it, though a series of arena-type doors. From the outside, the academy was a medium-sized two-story brick building that looked right out of 1950s-era architecture—which, sixty years on, was anything but flattery. It consisted of faded fox-red bricks and mortar on top of a two-foot, white concrete layer with black door frames that almost made the school look like the red foxes it had once housed—deliberately, Kamilya was sure. The two stories were separated by another two-foot stripe of concrete that was slightly inset from the bricks; the building was then capped with a black roof. The colors were muted from age and dirt, the fa?ade cracked in places over the entrance, which consisted of a wide, white concrete arch overlain with DOMINION ACADEMY in big block metal letters that looked straight out of a 1950s typeset. The letters looked like they’d been occasionally repainted, but there were brown rust stains visible beneath them on the white concrete, trailing downward. A closer examination also revealed that the academy’s motto was carved below the school name into the curve of the arch: ‘The Expectation of Excellence.’That doesn’t seem to have applied to upkeep. This place has certainly seen better days, Kamilya thought, reminding herself that outward appearances weren’t everything.There was also, the lioness saw, a noticeable difference between the appearance of the center of the building and the outside fa?ade of the two Ts that capped the building wings—the bricks and concrete were in considerably better shape for the latter. When she inquired about it, the Headmaster explained that they marked where new academic and athletic wings had been added thirty years earlier when Dominion enrollment doubled to include other vulpine races. They could have at least fixed up the older stuff to match, she thought to herself, but let it pass. On the other paw, she noted the grounds had been kept up well. Covering somewhat less than a square mile, the roughly square-shaped academy campus consisted of the parking lots in front and athletic fields in back, surrounded by fir trees and some aspens on three sides to mark the campus boundary, a stone fence in front for the fourth. The front of the south-facing academy also had a well-maintained lawn with a scattering of trees and flowerbeds around the parking lots and by the bus drop-off zones in front of the academic wing. The most prominent feature was a large traffic circle in front of the main entrance with the center consisting of flower beds, a large granite boulder that had been painted over repeatedly by successive classes, and a trio of flagpoles showing national, state, and Dominion colors. They really should take down that last one. As well as the championship and trophy displays inside, Kamilya thought to herself. It’s impressive, but irrelevant now. And just alienates anyone who isn’t a fox.Following the Headmaster around to the rear of the academy, she found the school’s various athletic practice and competition fields were surprisingly sprawling, covering perhaps a half-square mile area. The track/football field stadium was a 200-yard walk up a hill from the back of the school, roughly bisecting the academy with its long axis, with baseball and softball diamonds to the left, lacrosse/soccer/field hockey areas in back and further up the hill, and football practice areas to the right. Most fields had their own short bleacher sets. As she walked past the stadium, she saw it was bracketed by field-length 25-level aluminum bleachers on opposite sides plus a red-and-green colored press box on top of what she guessed was the home side. The track itself alternated by lane between the old school colors of fox red and forest green. On the end of the track nearest the school were the facilities where players dressed for home games and practices. There were separate structures for the home and away teams; they too were fox-red and slightly dilapidated—the renovations hadn’t reached the outdoor facilities yet. The scoreboard on the other end of the field also looked like it hadn’t been updated since the 1970s; consisting of white incandescent bulbs against a black backdrop with placards over the digital displays indicating team names or other stats. The outside and academic wing tour complete, Kamilya and the Headmaster entered the athletic wing, where the lioness was generally satisfied if not altogether impressed with the facilities she was shown. The larger of the two school gyms capped the end of the athletic wing. It consisted of two full-sized basketball courts circled by an oval indoor running track and bracketed by low bleachers; it could also be used for all forms of activity or assemblies depending on the need. Multiple ancillary rooms came off it; they included supply rooms, racquetball courts and rooms with padded floors for gymnastics or wrestling. There were also two separate weight rooms located at adjacent corners bracketing the locker rooms that ran along the gym’s interior long axis; the equipment in them was old but seemed serviceable. The locker rooms themselves were standard high school fare, consisting of decades-old, dimly-lit dressing areas and communal showers with no individual stalls; the mineral stains on the surfaces and faint odor of mildew told her the area hadn’t been given a thorough cleaning or fresh coat of paint in years. Perfect punishment job, she cataloged for later, further noting that instead of one large locker room for each gender, there were several smaller ones meant to be used exclusively by individual gym classes each period. I like that a lot, she nodded to herself in approval.The older fox concluded the tour by taking her upstairs to the athletic staff offices, located on the second floor over the locker rooms fronting the long axis of the gym, with windows looking out over the courts. They were fairly spartan affairs, little bigger than a basketball lane, and consisting of a well-used bolted-down desk, chair, one four-stack file cabinet, and an old mercury ceiling lamp that was hardly flattering to the room’s fading, peeling paint. The Headmaster gave Kamilya her predecessor’s office in the middle of the hall; the door still had his nametag on it. With an almost-gleeful flourish, he ripped it off on the spot and promised Kamilya her name would be on the door in short order. I’m actually starting to like him, she thought in mild surprise, suppressing a smile as he gave her the key to the office and the entry code to the female staff locker room located at the end of the hall. “Please feel free to start settling in and filling out your paperwork. There is an athletic staff social starting in half an hour. I will return for you then,” he promised. She nodded and thanked him. I’ll give him due credit—he’s certainly trying to make me feel at home, she noted, wondering why she felt strangely uneasy.After he left, she sat in her office chair for a moment—like everything else in the formerly vulpine academy, it was too small to really be comfortable for the lioness, and the desk would have to be raised as well to accommodate her stature. Lighting and ambience sucks, but can’t beat the view, she thought as she removed her blazer and began to unpack her briefcase, looking out the window over the gym. She was on her paws and knees reaching deep under her desk to plug her laptop charger into a floor outlet when she heard someone enter the room. Raccoon, Kamilya thought in instinctive distaste when she caught the distinctive musk of his species.“Hey there, lioness. I’m Jimail Matchill,” a swaggering male voice said, coming around her desk. “Jim for short. Boys’ soccer coach. Take it you got conned into coaching girls’ basketball?” he asked. She was just about to back out from under the desk, realizing he was trying to get a look at her ass when she felt his paw caressing her backside. Startled, Kamilya hissed sharply and jerked her head up, banging it hard on the underside of the desk, stunning herself momentarily. “Oops, sorry…” the voice said in a more amused than apologetic tone, taking the opportunity to give her butt another squeeze. “Here, I’ll help you out,” he promised, standing directly behind her and running both paws up over her meaty rump cheeks to hook his fingers inside her waistband, pulling her out by the back of her pants and panties. Dazed and only dimly aware of what he was doing at first, she raised her tail to pin her pants in place, which worked until Jimail deftly slipped the tail clasp buttons on both garments, the fabric going slack around her waist.Shocked at his brazenness, recognizance returning as she felt her slacks and panties pulled away from her body, the lioness gave a full-throated growl and hurriedly began to back out, pushing with her arms against the bolted-down desk. Tightly wedged, her blouse caught on the rough bottom of the pencil drawer and rode halfway up her back as her slacks were pulled down, fully baring the top half of her backside to the male raccoon, who promptly slipped both paws inside her loosened panties, caressing and kneading her well-toned and fleshy, softly-furred rump cheeks.To her utter disbelief, Kamilya felt the beginnings of excitement in response to his actions, the lioness keenly aware of the paws inside her clothes pressed against her bare flesh. Her growl wavered when he slipped his thumbs deeper into her cleft and lewdly spread her cheeks wide beneath her raised tail, displaying her fully. She finally pulled free of the desk and struggled to stand, but ended up falling forward and leaned over against her desk, legs wobbly from the paws on her rear and the bump on her head, the rumble from her throat now more croon than growl. Her reaction was not lost on the raccoon behind her. “Easy there, lioness,” Jimail said, his voice somehow both smooth and sultry as he steadied her by shifting his paws around inside her panties to her hips. He braced the lioness by pulling her more firmly back against him, the large feline’s now-naked rump pressed hard enough into his crotch that Kamilya could feel the bulge inside his pants. “Just relax and enjoy this…” he said in a voice of liquid velvet that made her shiver, his paws now beginning to track up her flanks, pulling her upright and pushing her top up as they went, the snaps of her blouse popping open one by one, exposing progressively more of her midriff.Aghast at both his actions and her surging reaction to it, a wave of sheer panic shot through her. A sudden rush of adrenaline overriding her dizziness and arousal, the lioness threw off his paws, knocked him backwards with her hips, rounded on the raccoon and grabbed him by the shirt front, claws out. Getting hold of a pawful of fabric, she slammed him hard against a side wall, holding him a foot off the ground, her body shaking and face a snarling mask of fear and fury as she got her first good look at him. He was an athletic-looking and decently built six-foot three raccoon, dressed in high-end blue jeans and a tight-fitting ribbed black shirt, a large bulge noticeable in the front of the former. His thick banded tail hung low between his legs with alternating black and light-gray stripes against a deep gray coat that had the barest hint of red in it. Like the rest of his race, he had flat plantigrade feet with long toes and a foxlike face with rounded white-rimmed ears and a black raccoon ‘mask’ very prominent on his cheeks and around his eyes, sharply delineated by brilliant white snout and forehead. His mask was punctuated by a pair of impish reddish-brown eyes that betrayed something akin to astonishment; Kamilya couldn’t tell if it was at her enormous strength or the fact she’d shaken him off.Despite his surprise and the proximity of her snarling visage, he recovered quickly, giving the lioness a jaunty grin. “Hey, hey, no need to be upset, tawny lady. I’m just trying to be friendly to a new hire,” he added, paws open in placation but eyes glittering mischievously.Kamilya’s growl grew in volume again, her tail lashing behind her over pants still down over her rump. “If y-you’re ever ‘friendly’ like that to me again, maskface, I’ll break the fingers of whatever paw touches me! Is that fucking clear?” the large lioness demanded to know, punctuating the statement by shaking him hard and grabbing one of his paws, squeezing it to the point of pain to let him know she could and would do it. His expression dropped a bit, but only momentarily. “Well now, what’s wrong, lioness? You’d think you didn’t enjoy it or something.”She stared at him, jaw dropping open. “You think I enjoyed that?” In response, he reached up with his free paw to the top of her chest and yanked open her blouse, the snaps popping open in rapid-fire as her bra-covered left breast was bared, ample cleavage showing over the top of the undergarment. The globe of dense flesh was as big as the raccoon’s head… and topped with a clearly erect, almost painfully aroused nipple poking out sharply beneath the fabric. Kamilya stared at it, then at him, wide-eyed and muzzle agape. “So you didn’t enjoy it, huh? Could’ve fooled me,” Jimail said mildly, tweaking the hard teat with a sharp downward flick of his index finger and giving her a toothy, knowing grin. Kamilya gave a shuddering gasp at the contact, nearly dropping the raccoon as something akin to an electric shock passed through her. Her lips curled back into a snarl and her growl began building again. Tightening her grip on his paw and shirt, she ejected the male from her office with an outraged roar, throwing him bodily out the door as hard as she could. He hit the corridor wall six feet away with an audible smack, falling to the floor hard.As he picked himself up and walked away, trying not to look like he was hurting or hurrying, the lioness heard clapping from down the hallway in the other direction. “I see you’ve met Jimail,” a female feline voice said, poking her head in the office, snickering in satisfaction. Her expression dropped when she saw the state the lioness was in, who quickly turned away to refasten her blouse snaps and yank her pants up at the hips. After pulling on her blazer to hide her still-hard teats, she turned back to see an ocelot standing at her door, staring at her, eyes wide and jaw slightly agape. Her new visitor was a small, slender, good-looking femme feline, standing only six feet tall, having the large patchy rosettes typical of her species on her brownish-orange-and-cream colored coat. They almost made her look like a small jaguar from the neck down, though the horizontal stripes that trailed off the corners of her eyes, white-rimmed green eyes, the ‘tear marks’ that went down the front of her face to converge beneath her small triangular nose, as well as her shorter muzzle and smaller head made sure she’d never be mistaken for one. She was dressed in a simple white blouse and jeans shorts, in marked contrast to the lioness’ formal interview suit, and Kamilya guessed she was around thirty years old. “Oh, gods, I’m so sorry…” she told the larger feline, her paw over her muzzle, clearly mortified. He got her too! she thought in disbelief.Furious but flustered, Kamilya initially said nothing, trying to reach behind her to get her tail clasps reset, but the blazer defeated her, restricting her arm movement. “Would you mind…?” she finally asked the other female, turning around and holding up the bottom of her blazer so the smaller feline could refasten the tail clasps.The lioness didn’t see the ocelot’s eyes go wide again. ‘S-sure,” she stammered slightly, going up to the lioness, fumbling for the clasp at the top of her panties first. One of the straps was trapped inside the fabric, so the spotted feline was forced to pull back the top of her waistband briefly and dig it out with a finger; it was all Kamilya could do not to recoil at the renewed feeling of having her pants pulled off and someone touching her rear again. “Listen, I-I’m real sorry about this,” the ocelot apologized again, finally getting her panties set and moving on to her slacks, which came easier. “Please don’t judge the rest of us by him. All the staff femmes have had run-ins with him. He’s a prima donna and none of the faculty likes him. But they won’t let him go because he was the only coach who won any games last year,” she told the larger feline, stepping away as she finished.One more reason to change that! Kamilya thought hotly, stifling another growl as she released her blazer, smoothing the front and flanks of her suit.“I’m Tabitha Leystar, by the way. Girls’ soccer coach,” the ocelot belatedly introduced herself, offering a paw. “Kamilya Kampo,” the lioness introduced herself in return, exchanging a forearm clasp with her. “New girls’ basketball coach. And apparent magnet for randy raccoons!” she snarled again. Tabitha cringed at that. “Yeah. Listen, um… there’s a social for athletic faculty over at the teacher’s lounge in half an hour. Want to come and be introduced to everyone?” the ocelot asked. “You’ll see that Jimail’s the exception and not the rule, I promise.”The lioness nodded slowly. “Headmaster mentioned that. Be happy to, but you’ll forgive me if I’d like a little more time first,” she said, still trying to get full hold of her surging emotions. She frowned, suddenly realizing something else. “Afraid I don’t know where the lounge is, though…” Tabitha nodded. “Of course. I’ll be by to take you over in twenty minutes,” she told the lioness, stepping out of the office.Kamilya nodded shortly. “Thanks,” she told the smaller feline, locking the door behind her.*****************After leaving Kamilya’s office, Tabitha marched down to the end of the hallway, where Jimail’s office was located. When she stormed in, the ocelot couldn’t help but feel an immense sense of satisfaction at seeing him with a bloody nose, torn shirt front, a visibly bruised eye and his left paw wrapping the right in a bandage, taping an icepack against his fingers.“You don’t waste time, do you?” she hissed at her male coaching counterpart. “You couldn’t even keep your paws off her for two fucking minutes?”Despite his injuries, the raccoon gave her an easy grin. “Hey, when I find a tight-assed tawny bent over with a butt just begging to be undressed and molested, it’d be rude not to oblige her,” he told the ocelot, completely unrepentant. Tabitha growled under her breath. “Goddammit, Jimail, we need her! From what I’ve read, she’s a damn good coach and one hell of a catch for the academy! What if she turns around and quits now because you can’t keep your paws to yourself?” the spotted feline demanded to know.“She won’t,” Jimail said nonchalantly as he finished wrapping his paw. “Headmaster likes the ‘dedicated’ types. He wouldn’t have brought her on unless she could take it. Right now, she’s locked in her office telling herself that she’s not about to let ‘some fucking maskface’ get the better of her,” the raccoon promised, giving her a crooked grin that said he already had. “So what about you, Tabbycat? Are you pissed that I got my paws on her, or that I got my paws on her first?”Tabitha’s ears flushed, flashing back to seeing the lioness’ open blouse and bare backside, the ocelot recalling her fingers brushing against the large feline’s delicious rear curves as she refastened her tail clasps. Despite the remembered images, she crossed her arms and forced a smirk. “H-hardly. I’m just happy that for once you got exactly what you deserved—played with fire and finally got burned, didn’t you, Jimail?” she mocked, motioning to his bandaged paw, torn shirt and nosebleed he was still trying to stop. “Serves you right.”“It was worth it,” he grinned, making a show of putting his feet up on his desk and lounging back in his chair, a smug, supremely satisfied expression on his face. “She didn’t turn on me because she wasn’t enjoying it, Tabby—she just couldn’t deal with the fact that she was,” he pronounced with certainty, licking clean a fresh trickle of blood from his nose.Tabitha’s jaw dropped open. “You’re incredible,” she hissed.“Why thank you,” he replied, knowing full well she meant it as anything but a compliment. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?” he asked, giving her a knowing grin and slow lick of his foxlike muzzle.Tabitha flinched at that, eyes going wide and tail twitching in an agitated manner behind her. “I told you never to mention that again,” she grated, her voice little above a whisper.“Not my fault you enjoyed it. Oh wait—it was,” Jimail gave her a toothy, mischievous grin. “I can already tell you and Kammy have a lot in common, you know—you’re both afraid of having fun with anyone outside of your comfort zones, and you’re both terrified of what it means when you do. Can’t wait to see what happens when you two end up in bed together,” he said in a deliberately offpaw manner, watching her reaction carefully.Tabitha’s eyes went wide at that; the ocelot going faint at the suggestion. “Y-you’re dreaming,” she said, her voice a weak croak.His impish grin got wider. “I’m guessing it’s your dream, Tabby,” he replied. “Up to you to make it a reality, though I’ll be happy to loosen her up a bit more if you like. Come to think of it, I will anyway. You want her first, better make a move quick before I do,” he warned, and the female feline knew from direct experience it was no idle threat. “If you need a little extra incentive, I can tell you all about that amazing ass of hers. And did you see how hard her tits were on top of those nice big boobs?” he asked, twisting his raccoon climbing claws deeper into her psyche.“Shut up!” Tabitha said a little too shrilly, trying to fight off the fantasies that were suddenly flooding her head. “Just stay away from her!” she demanded, storming out and slamming the door behind her.*****************Twenty minutes later, both Tabitha and Kamilya had recomposed themselves as they met back up and set out towards the front of the school. The pair chatted a bit more during the two-minute walk; Kamilya starting to take a liking to the smaller feline along the way while Tabitha found herself appraising the lioness, Jimail’s words and the remembered images of the larger feline’s partial undress haunting her no matter how hard she tried to block them from her mind. As they arrived at the lounge, the lioness ducked her head slightly to enter the door, which, like everything else at the school, was meant to conform to vulpine dimensions, not those of larger species. Upon entering, she saw that about thirty athletic faculty members were already there, casually dressed and chatting amicably, some plates of snacks out—seasoned raw meat strips on two platters, fruits, vegetables and cheese on a couple others. The large feline turned heads as she always did when she entered the room, and caught varying looks of interest, surprise… and some disapproval or disdain, mostly from a few canid members of the staff. Comes with the territory, she knew—old instincts and species rivalries died hard, and she reminded herself not to take them personally—or succumb to them herself. Unless raccoons are involved.“Kamilya! Glad you made it—I was about to come get you,” the Headmaster said, putting a paw on her shoulder, giving a nod of thanks to Tabitha. After her encounter with Jimail she might have flinched from anyone’s else’s touch, but his was somehow soothing. “Everyone, this is Kamilya Kampo, our new girls’ basketball coach. She comes to us from Aspire Feline Preparatory Academy, where she turned around that program in only three years. I have high hopes she can do the same here.” Kamilya heard more than one stifled snicker from the back, and so did the Headmaster, judging by his quick ear pivot. But he ignored them, proceeding to present her to everyone in the room,The lioness was introduced to an array of names and faces over the next ten minutes, far more than she’d be able to retain at once. She was mildly disappointed to be the only leonine on staff, but there was a near-even split between canids and felines, coupled with a smattering of other species such as a ringtail gymnastics trainer and even a rabbit track coach. Choking back her initial, instinctive disdain for herbivorous species, the lioness made a point to talk to the lapine at length and decided she had some excellent ideas for running drills and training. I’ll use her in my conditioning drills, she thought, congratulating herself on her own tolerance.While some introductions had genuine interest or warmth, others, like the spotted hyena on the football coaching staff, were barely civil to her. Let’s just avoid each other and there won’t be any problems, was the unspoken, mutually agreed-upon sentiment there—their species had been bloody rivals for far too long; the lioness doubted there could ever be rapprochement between them. She was also reintroduced to Jimail, who now had a bandaged paw and a noticeably puffy eye. “We’ve met,” she said shortly, crossing her arms at the raccoon’s offered paw, cutting off the Headmaster’s introduction. The older fox glanced back and forth between them for a moment, eyes narrowing at the raccoon. The lioness tried to stare the soccer coach down herself, but flinched away when he gave her a grin and mimed groping her butt when only she was looking, her rear feeling warm again where his paws had been. Flustered, she walked away, tail twitching behind her.A couple of the other male faculty took an interest in her as well, though were nowhere near as forward as Jimail had been. She had one rival for size—the head coach of the football team was a large, well-built tiger named Peter Jermanovic, standing two inches taller than she and who looked to be in his early forties, judging by depth of wrinkles around his eyes. “Gotten used to the low doors yet?” he asked her by way of introduction as she helped herself to some snacks, and they spoke for several minutes about conditioning strategies. Kamilya got the distinct impression she was being sounded out, but tried not to hold it against him. Unlike some lions, she had nothing against tigers—she’d coached and played with several, after all—and he wasn’t being obnoxious or intrusive about it; the striped feline seemed genuinely interested in her ideas and not just the hint of cleavage visible at the top of her blue interview blouse between the white lapels of her blazer.In contrast, there was her counterpart for the boys’ basketball team—a seven-foot-four, somewhat slender, mostly silver-and-grey colored timber wolf who went by the unlikely moniker of Silverpaws Halfmoon. “My parents had no imagination. They named me based on my coat and the phase of the moon when I was born. Just call me Sil for short,” he said by way of explanation. Tail wagging, he clasped her forearm firmly with a large paw, looking her over a little more directly before asking if she wanted to try some joint practices. The lioness said she’d think about it, but was just being polite—hell fucking no! was the answer she wanted to give, put off not so much by the suggestion but by his attention—she was more or less willing to work with canines, but drew the line sharply at sexual interest, which she was now hypersensitive about following her encounter with Jimail. She also didn’t appreciate his wagging tail, as he clearly didn’t know the gesture meant something entirely different to felines.No awareness and no manners, she noted scornfully. And no common sense, either. Integrated teams or no, if you put males and females of that age together on the court, you’re not going to get anything approximating a productive practice—just posturing, preening and butt-petting, she thought to herself, instantly lowering her opinion of her lupine counterpart by several notches, wondering if she was going to find all the staff canines as off-putting and impolite as him. As the social wound down an hour later, the Headmaster stood on a chair and raised a glass. “I propose a toast: to the school year ahead, to success on the field and off it, and to our new staff members,” he said, giving a quick nod to Kamilya and a few others. He raised his glass high. “To Dominion Academy!” “To Dominion Academy,” everyone echoed with varying degrees of enthusiasm, before taking a sip of their drink.PickupMonday, July 31, 2023The following Monday, Kamilya readied for her first day of work along with the rest of the Dominion athletic department. Setting her alarm two hours before she planned to arrive, she got up and went through her normal morning workout routine, which she performed three times weekly and had been virtually unchanged since she’d been a teenager: two hundred pushups of various types, two hundred sit-ups on an angled workout bench and fifty pull-ups on a bar mounted on the door frame of her study, followed by stretching and a half-hour on an exercise bike, watching the morning news as she did so. A shower and breakfast of pork sausage, raw eggs and whole milk later, she dressed in business casual attire—tan slacks, belt and a dark blue collared shirt from her previous coaching job at Aspire Feline Prep—filled her thermos with tea and headed for the academy.When she arrived—Jimail nowhere to be seen, to her relief—most of her morning was taken up with paperwork. “The bureaucracy demands its due, my dear,” the Headmaster said apologetically upon delivering a fresh sheath of forms to her. By 11, it was time to attend her first staff meeting, held in the faculty lounge and chaired by the athletic department head—a middle-aged cougar named Jason Wylde—and attended by the Headmaster. The red fox academy head announced several changes she wholeheartedly agreed with, and all ones that should have been done last year, she kept the thought to herself. To begin with, the academy was getting a makeover in identity, starting with changing its team name from the ‘Dragoons’ to the ‘Spirit’. This included a change of school colors, both in the classroom and on the playing field. For the former, student uniforms were changing from their traditional dark red and forest green—a holdover from the all-vulpine days and very unpopular with the non-fox students—to a far more neutral light blue shirt or blouse with tan khaki slacks scheme.Similarly, the school colors were changing from red and green to indigo and an orange-gold ‘amber’ with gold trim—a color combination no species had, and therefore not appearing to favor any. (“Exactly. I guess you could say we’re a new animal entirely,” the Headmaster said to chuckles when that was pointed out.). He brought out sample football and basketball home and away uniforms, and Kamilya nodded her approval at them. Simple, yet sharp. Next, it had been decided the academy would not field freshpaw or junior varsity teams that year. “As we do not have the staff to provide coverage for multiple teams and practices—not safely, anyway—we will play varsity schedules only,” the Headmaster explained, to which Kamilya nodded in agreement—we need a much higher coach-to-player ratio than normal to keep control and prevent fights; with only twenty-eight athletic faculty we’ve barely enough for varsity teams, let alone freshpaw or J.V. The Headmaster went on to say that the athletic requirement was being waived for freshpaws that year, but they could play on varsity teams with coach’s consent. “And last but hardly least…” the red fox paused, as if to savor the moment. “I have finally convinced the board to release funds to get the academy interior redone, renovated and painted in the new colors. The contractors have already been selected, the job is scheduled to begin tomorrow, and I aim to have as much of it done as possible by the time school starts in five weeks.” Most of the staff members goggled at that, Kamilya included. He went on, the fox grinning like his proverbial ancestor in the henhouse as he dropped his biggest bombshell—“you will all be pleased to know that this makeover will not only include the gyms, but the locker rooms, the equipment… and your own offices as well!”That brought smiles to everyone’s faces—suddenly glad I haven’t put anything up on my walls yet! Kamilya thought, exchanging an approving nod with Tabitha. “These changes are more than merely cosmetic—I want a fresh start all around,” the Headmaster concluded.“Sir…” Peter Jermanovic, the big tiger football coach, spoke up. “Football practices begin this week. If it’s not too late, may I ask that we prioritize…” The Headmaster stilled him by holding up a black-furred paw. “Way ahead of you, Peter. All interior athletic and assembly areas have first priority, including your offices. Administrative and academic areas come second, and finally the exterior of the school will be done in stages, with the goal of completing the job by the end of the year.” The staff applauded loudly, some even hooting and offering toothy, open-mouthed grins. Morale is as much from the top down as the bottom-up, Kamilya noted to herself with approval, sensing genuine excitement from her new colleagues for the first time since she’d been there. So that’s why he was being so coy with me—he didn’t want to spoil the surprise! she thought happily.After the Headmaster left, the meeting went on for another hour, mostly discussing various administrative matters and new procedures for the new school year. By the time it ended it was well after noon, and the lioness could hear more than a few gurgling stomachs—including her own. “Kamilya? A group of us are going to a pizzeria down the street for lunch. Want to come?” Tabitha offered. “Jimail’s not coming, promise,” she added upon seeing the larger feline’s hesitation. “In that case, sure,” the lioness accepted.*****************Woo’s Pizzeria was a small eatery in midtown that looked to Kamilya like it had been there for generations; a handed-down family business run by a father-daughter raccoon pair. It consisted of perhaps a dozen tables covered with well-worn red-and-white checkerboard tablecloths, fading old red-and-beige paint on the walls covered with black-and-white pictures of the business’ founding some fifty years earlier. The current owner, a plump, six-foot tall, middle-aged raccoon whom Kamilya guessed was the grandson of the original founder, was tossing dough in the back, while his teenaged daughter helped assemble the pizzas and did the waitressing duties. Kamilya initially looked at the pair in severe distaste when she entered; had she been alone she would have immediately looked elsewhere for her meal after seeing the eatery was run by raccoons. The reputation of the species among lions was lascivious and conniving, and her encounter with Jimail had done nothing to convince her the labels were undeserved.Not every raccoon is like Jimail, she told herself unconvincingly, trying to again quash the remembered feel of the male soccer coach’s paw slipping inside her panties to caress her bare rump. She’d been dismayed when she’d started having dreams about him over the weekend… and was doubly appalled as she’d woken up increasingly aroused from them. I’m not turned on by getting groped by some fucking maskface! she insisted to herself while her new colleagues hailed the apron-wearing owner in the back. “Hey Mister Woo!” Tabitha called to him. He looked up and immediately waved back, smiling warmly upon recognizing the group. “We were regulars last year,” the ocelot explained, adding that his waitress daughter attended Dominion, and he offered discounts to academy staff for it. “Owner is nice, pizza is great, price is cheap, can’t beat it,” she told the larger feline.Despite her distraction and brooding, Kamilya was increasingly hard-pressed to disagree as they took their seats. The owner’s waitress daughter offered her a larger chair in a sunken section of the floor under the table that she gratefully accepted—it meant she could sit normally but still be at the right height; her knees wouldn’t be banging against the underside of the table. Taking a deep breath, she picked up and scanned the menu, listening idly to the conversation going on around her. Their six-person lunch party was an eclectic group, but a good cross-section of the athletic department, the lioness decided. To her left sat Todd and Wesley Tokala, 35-year old red fox brothers who were holdovers from the academy’s pre-integration days. The two stood a bit above average height for vulpines at an even six feet; had fairly slight frames on them like most of their species—bodies toned but not that muscled, looking more built for quickness than anything else. They had standard red fox fur patterns except that the blue-eyed Todd’s coat colors seemed muted; his ‘socks’ were more gray than black on his extremities and his red fur a more generally pale or dusty rust color. He did double-duty as the academy’s crew and tennis coach, though the academy was not fielding a crew team that year. In contrast, the gold-eyed Wesley had deep red tones and more black on his muzzle and his tail, giving him a very swarthy appearance, somewhat reminiscent of a certain fictional Spanish swordsfox of lore—very apt, the lioness decided, as she learned that in addition to being head baseball coach, he ran the school fencing team as well. When first introduced, the lioness looked at the pair balefully for a moment, remembering what the Headmaster had told her about the previous girls’ basketball coach—wondering if they were loyal to their school or their species first. She quashed that line of thought immediately, angry at herself for immediately presuming the worst before she’d even learned anything about them. If they did, they wouldn’t be here. They’d’ve either quit or been fired, just like my predecessor.Across from her sat Vance Dylan, a 36-year old brown-eyed cheetah who was the academy’s head athletic trainer and doubled as the lacrosse coach in the spring. He was slender and built for speed like most of his species, stood about six and a half feet tall and didn’t appear to have an ounce of fat on him beneath his black-spotted gold coat. The black fur around his eyes and tear marks that delineated his muzzle were particularly pronounced and striking. To his left was Jace Cheveyo, a young, 26-year old, dark-furred and greenish-gold-eyed timber wolf not long out of graduate school who functioned as the academy’s strength coach and an all-purpose athletic trainer. At seven feet tall he stood a few inches above average for a wolf but was also very well-muscled and had a very large frame; looked like he spent most of his time in the gym pumping weights. Unusually, his coat was head-to-toe black; the lioness could detect barely a trace of the rings of different-shaded fur wolves normally possessed around their upper body and head.Rounding out the crew and sitting to Kamilya’s right was Tabitha, the lithe ocelot girls’ soccer coach who was quickly becoming Kamilya’s first real friend on the faculty. As the lioness sat back and scanned the menu, she listened to the conversation going on around her, noting with some surprise her new colleagues were completely at ease around each other despite the canine/feline split, chatting and joking. Maybe the last year actually brought them together even as it split the students? she wondered, starting to think that perhaps Jimail really wasn’t typical of the staff. “Well, I’ve got to give the old fox credit… he wants this to work, and he’s willing to put his money where his muzzle is.” Jace said as the teenaged raccoon waitress brought them their complimentary breadsticks.“You don’t know the half of it,” agreed Wesley. “Getting that much money out of the board must have been like pulling teeth.” “Maybe he didn’t,” Todd mused out loud, biting down on a breadstick. “The Headmaster’s got some money and a big house. Wouldn’t put it past him to bypass the academy board and pay for it out of his own pocket. Take out a second mortgage or something.”They considered that. “Nah. I’d guess all this is running upwards of a few million dollars at least,” Vance said. “He’s not that rich. And why wait until now, unless he’d finally won the board over? Could have had the contractors ready to go as soon as school let out. As it stands there’s barely enough time to get the athletic wing done before school starts.” The others nodded, as did Kamilya—his logic was sound.“Well, he must have found some kind of leverage,” Tabitha added. “But whatever happened, we’re finally getting what we need—a clean slate and a fresh start.” She glanced over at the lioness sitting next to her, noticing some doubt. “You disagree, Kamilya?” the ocelot asked, turning everyone’s attention on her.“Not at all. I think it’s wonderful,” the lioness replied, choosing her next words carefully, not wanting to sound like she was disparaging the popular Headmaster whom she was coming to like as well. “I’m just… confused as to why it wasn’t done before. All this stuff—the new name, uniforms and school colors—seems common sense to me. Should have been done at the start.”Across from her, Vance nodded. “Not the Headmaster’s fault. You can thank our great and vainglorious… school board for it not happening before this,” he said. Kamilya heard his hesitation and sensed he had caught himself before he said something that might get him in trouble. She guessed from the alliteration he had been about to specify vulpine as the cheetah went on. “Changes like these; approval of the budget release to do so require a 2/3rds vote of the nine-member board. He proposed most of these same changes last year but didn’t even get a majority. Voted down 5-4 or something. I remember one of the board members said, ‘the current school colors were good enough for us to wear, and they’re good enough for everyone else.’ ” “You mean Greyfar,” Jace spat. “He had half the board in his pocket. He never wanted this to succeed.”“He still doesn’t,” Todd said, sharing a glance with his brother—they knew what Vance was about to say too, Kamilya noted, and they apparently don’t disagree. “If you ask me, the only reason he voted for integration in the first place was so he could make sure it failed as spectacularly as possible and wouldn’t be tried again.”“Then it nearly worked,” Jace mumbled, and the mood suddenly became subdued. Vance looked at Jace carefully, as if checking for something. Kamilya’s eyes narrowed for a moment—there’s something there, she thought as she studied the wolf closely. Whatever it was, the moment was broken as their drinks were brought out. Two large pizzas were ordered—one all-meat and one mixed meat and vegetables for the omnivorous foxes—and Todd raised his blue plastic glass in a toast. “Well, gang… to a new year, a fresh start… and a new colleague,” he said with a nod to the lioness next to him. They all touched their cups together. “So why don’t you tell us about yourself, Kamilya?”The lioness shrugged. “There’s not much to tell, sorry. I was a high school and college player, got hurt, took up training and coaching instead. Got my masters, was an assistant on my school’s J.V. team for a while, eventually landed my first head coaching job at Aspire Feline Prep, then came here…” she trailed off when she realized Vance was laughing softly.“Come on, you shouldn’t shortchange yourself, Kamilya.” He raised his paw, showing her a sapphire-embedded class-ring—the same ring she wore in pendant form around her neck. “I’m a Canyon State alumnus too. Was a graduate student when you came through and I saw you play.” She shot him a warning look, which he ignored. “You were a star high school player at South Heights Leonine Academy in New Mexico. You took them to back-to-back state titles and got heavily recruited. We were really lucky to score you—I even remember Coach Rachelle called you the best pure power forward she’d ever seen.” “Vance…” she held up her paws, trying to get him to stop, but the cheetah was on too much of a roll.“And you know what? She was right. You were awesome. Averaged twenty points, seven rebounds, six assists and three blocks a game your sophomore year,” he ticked off her stats. The others looked at her, surprised and impressed.Kamilya shifted uncomfortably, unhappy with the scrutiny. “I was on a good team,” she offered weakly. Vance just chuckled again. “Yeah. That improved from 18-13 to 25-7, won the conference tourney as a #3 seed and made the elite eight of the national tournament your second year. To say nothing of that upset of the Huskies you pulled in the sweet sixteen.” His smile dropped a bit. “They weren’t the same after you left, either.” She hoped—prayed—he left it there. He looked uncertain for a moment, but decided he had to say it. “I… was in the stands that night. I saw it happen. I’m very, very sorry.”Kamilya stiffened and her knee twinged; she was suddenly all too aware of the metal-and-plastic brace covering half her right leg underneath her slacks. Her toes flexed, involuntarily splaying her claws, and she choked back the flood of painful memories that suddenly threatened to engulf her. “You’ll… understand if I really prefer to not discuss it,” the lioness said quietly. The memories of that horrible night were still too vivid in her memory. To the confused looks of everyone else, she added a clipped explanation. “My junior year, I hurt my knee. Badly. It ended my playing career.” I hurt my knee, she repeated to herself. There’s a prize understatement.Tabitha hesitated for just a moment before she put her paw over Kamilya’s, giving it a quick squeeze the lioness flinched back from, still hypersensitive to being touched after her encounter with Jimail. “You’re among friends here, Kam,” the smaller feline told her, mildly flustered at her reaction.“We’re all sorry,” Todd added tentatively, sensing her discomfort. “And Tab’s right. The athletic staff’s pretty tight-knit now and we all take care of each other… long as you avoid Jimail.”Kamilya tensed anew at that. “I already met him,” she said shortly through gritted teeth.“Jimail made a point of… introducing himself,” Tabitha added, her lips tight. Everyone winced at that, immediately offering profuse apologies. “Wait… Jimail had a black eye and a bandaged paw at the social the other day. You did that to him, Kamilya?” Todd asked her. She nodded tersely, eager to be off the subject.Everyone looked back and forth for a moment. “In that case, I think I speak for everyone when I say your lunch is on us, Kamilya” Wesley told her, giving her a toothy vulpine grin. The others nodded in eager agreement, expressing their own thanks and appreciation to the lioness as well. “You’ve no idea how often we’ve all wanted to do that to him,” Jace told her, grinning at her, flashing his teeth briefly.“Thank you!” she acknowledged, pleasantly surprised, feeling genuinely welcomed by her new colleagues for the first time. Soon thereafter the pizza was served, ending the conversation as they all took a slice. Kamilya inhaled the aroma deeply and bit into her piece, finding it was indeed superb. See why they like it. Raccoons or not, I’ll remember this place.*****************After getting back from lunch, Kamilya spent most of the afternoon ensconced in her new office, filling out forms and studying what seemed an endless array of procedure and policy manuals—why the fuck don’t they do these online like everyone else now? she wondered in increasing irritation. The lioness was quickly reaching saturation point, and her still-brooding mood combined with the size-too-small chair and blank, barren, peeling walls of her ill-lit office weren’t helping. Filling out her personal information on a requisition form for what seemed the millionth time that day—this one for a set of academy instructor uniforms—she thought she was done with it until she noticed the pages were double-sided and there were even more fields to be filled in on the backs. Hissing sharply, she started to fill them out as well…Her pencil snapped in her paw. She slapped it down in disgust, deciding she had to change scenery and work off her tension somehow—and there was only one thing she knew of that was guaranteed to do the trick. Pulling her blinds and locking her door, she got out her gym bag and changed into workout shorts and a t-shirt. Going downstairs, she went into the athletic supply room and found a rack of dusty basketballs—she couldn’t quite keep her lip from curling when she saw they were all striped deep red and forest green. In fact, virtually all the equipment she saw had the old school colors. And they wondered why the non-vulpine students had no school spirit or unity, the lioness thought in a mixture of amazement and disgust. For her purposes, Kamilya didn’t care what colors they were as long as they were functional. Most of the balls were flat after months of disuse, so she found a pump in a cabinet and inflated eight of them. She placed them on a cart and wheeled it out to one of the two gym courts, picked up a ball and gave it an experimental dribble, and then flexed her feet, testing the footing. It was a well-worn court with plenty of scrapple marks from a thousand different toe claws, but it still offered good grip and purchase to her footpads.Testing her knee and making sure her brace was free-moving, she started with a gentle lope and dribble up the court. When she reached the basket, she rose slightly to lay the ball up and in, grabbed it as it came down, dribbled out to the key, and put up a turnaround jumper. The ball went down again. Next, she angled out a bit, feigned a move against an invisible opponent, pivoted on her good leg, drove, and put up a floater. It bounced off the backboard and in. She caught the ball as it fell from the basket and put up a no-look reverse layup. Down again.Kamilya kept up the shooting exhibition for several minutes. At the end, she wheeled the cart back forty feet and, in rapid fire, the lioness grabbed and shot the remaining five balls off the rack like she was competing in a three-point shooting contest. The first one missed, the other four went down. She nodded in satisfaction before going to gather the balls up again. Still got it.Several pairs of paws started clapping behind her. Turning, she saw Tabitha, Vance, Jace, and a few others had come down from the athletic offices to watch her. Vance grabbed a loose ball and put up a jump shot from twenty feet. It went down. Excellent form, she thought, impressed. “Hey Kam… care to play a little pickup?” Vance asked, picking up and slowly dribbling a second ball. Kamilya thought about it and smiled. “Depends. You any good?” “I can hold my own,” the cheetah said casually, twirling the ball on his clawtip for a moment before suddenly exploding towards the basket, leaping, rising almost to the level of the twelve-foot rim for an easy-looking lay-in. He casually turned and caught the ball on its way down, bouncing it to her with a flick of his wrist. “What do you say, lioness?”Well, then. This could be fun after all. “You’re on, cheetah. Anyone else want to play?” she asked, looking back at the rest of their audience. “I’m in,” Jace said with a grin. “Me too,” Tabitha announced as well, to Kamilya’s surprise. The lioness turned to her. “You’re sure?” The ocelot was the smallest one of the four by far; Kamilya couldn’t imagine she’d enjoy herself or be able to do much. “I’ll be fine,” the smaller feline said, an odd glint in her eye. “I might have played a couple times before.”Kamilya was very dubious, but didn’t let it show. “Fullcourt two on two, then… what teams?” She figured she’d put Tabitha with Vance—weakest player on the team with the strongest—and she would take Jace. “How about a battle of the sexes… me and Jace versus you and Tab?” Vance suggested. “First team to ten baskets wins, and for a little extra incentive… the losers buy lunch next time?” Jace asked.Kamilya and Tabitha grinned and flashed their teeth. “It’s a bet!” they said in unison. I’ll beat them both myself if I have to! Kamilya promised herself. The rest of the athletic faculty settled into the stands to watch, curious, while Tabitha, Vance and Jace went to change into something more suited for play. *****************Five minutes later, Jace and Vance came out in gym shorts and t-shirts, while Tabitha emerged in tight-fitting athletic shorts and a loose midriff t-shirt over a dark red sports bra that showed through the thin fabric, earning double-takes from every male in the gym, including a wolf whistle from Jimail. A bit showy, Kamilya thought with mild disapproval, trying to block out the raccoon’s presence, noting the outfit certainly flattered the lithe ocelot’s curves quite well. Well, guess she’ll take every advantage she can get. Kamilya and Vance faced off at center court for a jump-ball delivered by Todd to start things off. The cheetah was a foot and a half shorter than the lioness but easily outleaped her, batting the ball back to Jace. If I had two good legs, I’d never lose a tip-off. The wolf dribbled up the court and Kamilya backpedaled slowly, shadowing but not yet challenging him, watching his movements carefully. To her right, Vance wasn’t really pressing Tabitha either, just moving up slowly towards the key awaiting a pass he was certain neither the lioness nor ocelot could stop. They’re not taking us seriously, Kamilya recognized. I’ll fix that in a hurry. She closed to within two feet of the wolf just outside the three-point line halfway to the right of the basket. He made a show of dribbling between his knees for those watching, followed by rolling the ball across his shoulders. Kamilya’s lip curled at that—I hate showboating. The wolf’s eyes flickered, and the lioness read his intention instantly and instinctively—he was going to feint a drive around her left side, but was actually planning a no-look pass to Vance at the top of the key while he darted in the opposite direction and pulled her to the left, giving the cheetah an opening to drive the basket. Wait for it… she thought, pretending to bite on the fake, cheating to her left. Now! She sprang to the right off her good leg just as Jace switched paws and flung the ball to his left, simultaneously trying to go around her to his right. The lioness timed her leap perfectly and speared the ball right off his paw with her long reach, knocking it upcourt, already in motion to run it down. A surprised Jace wheeled and tried to recover, but was a step behind her when she reached the ball just past the halfcourt line. Taking the ball cleanly on the bounce, Kamilya drove the basket, easily holding the black-furred lupine off with her body, dribbling with her right paw while keeping Jace behind her and to the left. Entering the lane, she heard the rapid footfalls of Vance charging up behind her. Use his speed against him, the lioness reminded herself. She was within five feet of the basket when he caught up, at which point she feinted a shot, inducing him to leap to try to swat it away. She reversed her dribble and pivoted left on her good leg while the cheetah flew by, swiping helplessly at the air. Jace was caught flat-footed by the sudden reversal as well, off-balance and flailing. Their overpursuit took them both out of the play, at which point Kamilya picked up her dribble directly under the basket and tossed the basketball up with casual, disdainful ease. It hit the backboard and went in, falling right into her paws. She dropped it on the baseline, giving both her stunned opponents a toothy grin. “I’m not that bad either,” she told a stunned Vance before retreating upcourt, high-fiving Tabitha along the way. The watching crowd laughed and clapped. I may not have my old speed or explosiveness, but I’ve still got my strength, instincts, ball handling skills, and shooter’s touch. “Hey, you gonna let a pussy do that to you, Jace?” Jimail taunted from the stands. Jace growled and inbounded to Vance, who quickly advanced the ball up the court. He was extremely fast, as befit his species. But let’s see how good he is at changing directions. She interposed herself, backpedaling a bit, cutting off his angle to the basket. He thought twice about trying to go right through the large lioness looming over him, seemed to be measuring his chances at darting around her. Tabitha took position behind him, cutting off a possible pass to Jace, who was still coming upcourt. Vance glanced back for Jace, at which point Kamilya showed her own speed, seizing the attention lapse and swatting the basketball out of his paws mid-dribble. She palmed the ball with her large paw and flipped it over the surprised cheetah’s head to Tabitha. Jace went for the ball and missed as the surprisingly quick and athletic ocelot leaped high to snare the pass. She dodged the larger wolf with ease, came down in control and began to dribble upcourt quickly and in a very practiced manner. She’s played before, and not just pickup games! Kamilya realized as she loped after them as quickly as her knee would allow. Vance charged after the smaller feline, catching up to her as she entered the lane, but Tabitha simply waited until he had nearly reached her before bouncing a pass backwards to Kamilya coming in at the top of the key. Jace was coming hard, but couldn’t get there in time to prevent Kamilya from setting and launching a jump shot that swished through for a 2-0 lead.Tabitha added insult to injury on the next possession when the lithe feline skied to intercept Vance’s inbound pass, leaping nearly seven feet straight up—where the hell did she learn to jump like that? The ocelot quickly passed out to Kamilya, but this time Jace was in position. Kamilya feinted to her right, put her left shoulder into the wolf’s chest and pushed off him as if to gain separation for a shot. She knew it would be hard to shoot the ball over him with only one good knee to jump with, but that wasn’t her intention. When the lioness pulled back, the wolf rose to block the expected shot… And Kamilya bounced the ball right between his legs just as Tabitha cut inside, to the laughter of the crowd.The smaller feline had read Kamilya’s intent perfectly, taking the bounce pass in stride. The lioness started to position herself for another pass and jumper, but Tabitha fearlessly drove the baseline right on the larger, quicker cheetah. Two feet from the basket, she rose to shoot, waiting for Vance to commit to the block. When he did, she switched her motion in mid-flight, going under him to put up a perfect reverse lay-up, arcing it in over the very surprised cheetah’s outstretched arms. The crowd whooped again, while Jace, Vance, and Kamilya all goggled. “Point guard. Redoubt University. Second-string all-conference,” she explained, grinning broadly. “I can hold my own too,” she added to Vance in classic understatement. “It’s 3-nil, boys. Already looking forward to lunch.”Jace rubbed his eyes, shaking his head and laughing a bit. “Great. We’re up against two ringers,” the wolf observed, starting to pant harder. “Great idea on the teams, Vance.” “Uh, and whose idea was lunch again?” the cheetah retorted dryly as he tossed the wolf the inbound. “You could have told me,” an impressed Kamilya half-scolded Tabitha, high-fiving the smaller feline as they backed up the court. “What, and miss the look on your faces?” the smaller feline asked, beaming.Jace advanced the ball upcourt, much more warily than before. When they reached the offensive zone, the two males didn’t try anything cute—they’ve learned their lesson—and held up in backcourt, looking for an opening. Jace got the ball and started to attack Kamilya’s weak side, but changed his mind and simply passed back to Vance. Why isn’t he driving on me? the lioness wondered, guessing the answer immediately. Of course. He’s afraid of hurting my leg. Well, I can fix that too. The next time he got the ball, she backed off a little, giving him an opening around her right. When he took the invitation and tried to drive past her on her weak side, she stepped in and hip-checked the canine hard, sending the wolf sprawling, ball flying away. She stood over him as he looked up at her, stunned. “Don’t hold back on me, wolf. Bring it all, or don’t bring it!” she grinned, showing him the tips of her teeth. The playground goad had the desired effect—the wolf’s eyes narrowed, his ears flattened and he curled back his own lips a bit. He got up, growling low, giving her a predatory stare. Good, she grinned. Now it’s on! Having been embarrassed on four straight possessions, the two males stopped trying to showboat and started playing for real. The dozen or so staff watching had gotten into the game as well, shouting encouragement to both sides—females cheering wildly for Kamilya and Tabitha, males teasing, goading, and trash-talking the hard-pressed Vance and Jace.Jace set a pick on Tabitha and Vance took advantage of it, drove Kamilya’s right side with sheer speed, turning the corner and then taking it up the baseline to lay it in for their first basket. There you go. You’re playing together, now! the lioness thought approvingly, the coach part of her kicking in. Pity it’s not going to be enough, she grinned, launching a long inbounds pass to Tabitha that caught their opponents flat-footed again as the ocelot took it in for another easy lay-up and a 4-1 lead. Back at the other end, she found herself in the paint with the Jace, and this time, the wolf was pushing back hard against her, no longer holding back, fighting the lioness for position. Kamilya was impressed—though a full head shorter the wolf was just as strong as she, and now mad as hell. Vance fed him, and this time she went down hard when Jace lowered his shoulder into her as he roared around her strong side. He finished with an uncontested lay-up, closing the gap to 4-2.The wolf stood over her, grinning, showing the tips of his own teeth. “That good enough for you, pussycat?” She got up smiling, eyes glittering, now thoroughly enjoying the game. “That’s exactly what I wanted, wolf,” she told him as she accepted his help in getting up. She slapped him hard on the ass as he went by, picked up the ball and inbounded to Tabitha. The smaller feline brought it up the court slowly this time, as Vance was back and ready to defend another fast break. At the other end, she and Tabitha played catch for a bit, looking for an opening against what was suddenly a much tighter defense from the two males. Finally, Tabitha set a pick on Vance and Kamilya took advantage and drove the baseline, waited for Jace and Vance to converge on her…At which point she simply no-looked to Tabitha who had circled around behind her, standing alone at twenty feet. The rosette-spotted ocelot drained the uncontested shot with ease, making it 5-2. “Think we’ll get lunch at that Angus Steakhouse,” she told Vance and Jace, who both groaned. From then on, the wolf and cheetah held their own against the two femme felines, but ten minutes later, Kamilya harried Jace into putting up an awkward shot that missed, corralled the rebound and fed Tabitha on a break. Vance was tiring and wasn’t as fast as he was at the start of the game; couldn’t reach the ocelot before she floated the basketball up for the clinching lay-in and a 10-6 final score.The female faculty watching cheered wildly while the males groaned, more than a few getting their wallets out to pay off lost bets, but stood and applauded in appreciation as well—it was then the lioness noticed the Headmaster himself was in attendance, clapping and nodding in satisfaction. Kamilya high-fived all the females in the stands. After that, she hugged a surprised Tabitha tightly in triumph, sweeping her smaller form up and holding her head to her chest—“Tab, you can play with me anytime!” The lioness missed the startled reaction and widened eyes of the smaller feline, who could only squeak out a half-whispered “I’d love to…” After she was done with ocelot, Vance came up and gave the larger lioness a half-hug, deep respect in his eyes. “You’ve still got it, Kamilya. Even with a bum leg you’re awesome.” She grinned at the compliment and squeezed his paw, clapping him on the back. “You ain’t bad yourself, cheetah. Neither of you are,” she said with a nod and offered paw to Jace, who had played her nearly even for the last half of the match.Jace grinned and clasped her forearm briefly, still panting lightly, bent over a little with his paws on his upper legs. “Yeah, well, I still don’t think we want to put you two on the same team next time. Considering the steakhouse Tabitha’s talking about, I don’t think our wallets could take it. Certainly our egos couldn’t.”Finally, the Headmaster himself came up, and clasped each of their forearms in turn. “A stirring match. I enjoyed watching immensely,” he said, complimenting them all. When he got to Kamilya, he stopped. “My dear, if you can bring the same passion and intensity to coaching as you do to playing… then our girls’ basketball team is in the very best of paws.” She bowed her head in acknowledgment and respect. “I can and I will. I won’t disappoint you, sir.” The red fox grinned. “I now have no doubt, Kamilya. I now have no doubt at all.”*****************Five minutes later, the crowd dispersed, and Jace and Vance went back to the male staff locker room to shower and change. Best do the same, Kamilya realized as she sniffed at herself. “I’m a little gamey,” she noted to Tabitha. “Do the showers have hot water right now?”“They should,” Tabitha responded, her mouth suddenly dry as she followed the larger feline back to the locker room. The ocelot trailed behind Kamilya, trying not to be too obvious about watching the rhythmic, easy movement of the larger feline’s hips, or the slow swishing of her tasseled tail. Tabitha’s body still tingled from the hug the larger lioness had given her, and her mind was taking the lioness’ offer of ‘playing with her anytime’ in a completely different direction than the one intended. Tabitha knew it was ridiculous—to say nothing of unprofessional as hell—to have a teenage crush on a new faculty member she’d met only the previous day and still barely knew, but she couldn’t help it. Even aside from Jimail’s goading, she’d been all but smitten from the moment she’d first laid eyes on the lioness, and everything that happened since, from her ejection of the raccoon from her office to the pickup game they’d just concluded had only added to her attractiveness in the ocelot’s eyes.Sitting on a bench, Kamilya took her shirt off first, showing the dark blue midriff sports bra she’d been wearing underneath. Tabitha’s heart skipped a beat from the next bench over, where she was watching the lioness as surreptitiously as she could, playing her eyes over the evocative arcs of the undergarment. She noted that Kamilya’s bra flattered her impressive bust very well; near-perfect curves broken only by the bumps of her nipples pressing lightly up underneath the soft but tough fabric.The lioness stood up to her full eight-foot height—taller than even most males of her species—and it was all Tabitha could do not to swoon when the large feline crossed her arms under her bust and pulled her bra up over her head. Topless, Kamilya looked every bit the powerful, beautiful lioness she was, hard muscles tempered with soft feminine curves, her torso capped by two large and gorgeous, well-proportioned breasts with a pendant hanging between them. The short and tawny gold fur that covered most of her leonine body faded to a very light cream color at her muzzle, running down her chest, breasts, belly and the inside of her arms and legs; Tabitha could just make out faint rosettes against the lighter fur that were the remains of the spotted coat the large feline must have possessed as a cub. Kamilya’s ice blue eyes were unusual for a lioness—or even for adult felines in general—and for Tabitha they only added to her allure. As if to tantalize her further, the lioness turned away, undid the tail clasp of her athletic shorts with a rip of separating Velcro, and wriggled out of them, exposing the curves of her hips and equally toned and shapely ass. As she got out of her own shorts, Tabitha licked her muzzle repeatedly as her eyes hungrily traced the outline of the larger feline’s body, feeling another flash of jealousy towards Jimail for getting his paws on the lioness first.Kamilya dropped her shorts as she stepped out of them. When she bent over to retrieve them, her tasseled tail rose high enough for the ocelot to get a good look at the slit that lay between the larger feline’s legs; an unintentionally teasing two-second display of black leonine pussy lips surrounded by downy light-colored fur that was enough to start Tabitha’s own sex swelling and tingling.Sitting naked on the bench, Kamilya reached down to release the four clasps on her knee brace. They came free with a series of clacks, and the brace clamshelled open. Setting it aside, Kamilya reached into her bag for her body wash and fur conditioner. Slightly favoring her left leg, she stood up and walked towards the showers, tail weaving a slow, serpentine path behind her. Tabitha did the same, following as close behind as she dared, drinking in the larger feline’s hourglass figure, wanting nothing more than to put her paws all over Kamilya’s exquisite body. She was relieved once they were in the shower, where the water and humidity would tamp down all scents—or there would be no way the lioness could miss the ocelot’s now-raging arousal. Torn between her desire—and desperation—to see Kamilya’s beautiful body up close and to not look like the teenage-girl-in-her-first-heat the spotted feline increasingly felt like, she settled for a showerhead two down from the larger feline.Water running, they lathered up with quick-foaming body washes, scrubbed and rinsed, finished by using special combs to run conditioner through their fur. Tabitha kept stealing glances at the lioness, her eyes devouring Kamilya’s curves every chance she got until the larger feline noticed her gaze and locked eyes with her quizzically. What are you looking at? she was asking. Think fast! Tabitha nearly panicked before locking on to Kamilya’s necklace. “I-I was noticing your pendant…” she stammered. “That looks a lot like Vance’s ring…” Kamilya looked down, and nodded. “It’s a Canyon State University class ring, same as his,” she said, reaching between her breasts to pick it up. “Want to see?” she offered, holding it out on its chain, stepping towards the other feline. Tabitha felt her knees go weak as the lioness stopped within two feet of her, leaving the ocelot staring past the pendant directly into the lion femme’s bust.Stilling her trembling paws—but unable to quiet her pounding heart—she reached for the proffered pendant. It took all her willpower not to let her paws move forward to caress the two large, delicious orbs of fur and flesh that lay not an inch beyond them, suddenly remembering Jimail’s comment of how Kamilya’s teats had been hard after his groping. I only want them to be hard for MINE! Tabitha demanded mentally, almost petulantly.Forcing herself to focus, she saw the pendant was gold with a star-cut sapphire inlay. “Why a pendant and not a ring?” the ocelot inquired, trying to stay casual, preying her voice wouldn’t tremble as much as her body was trying to. “Rings don’t fit well on my fingers,” Kamilya said, flexing her meaty digits. “They’re not comfortable. So I chose a pendent instead.”“Is the… color significant?” Tabitha asked, less out of curiosity than to prolong the moment—Kamilya’s closeness—just a few seconds more. “Depends on your study. Sapphire for athletics. Ruby for law, emerald for engineering, etc,” the lioness replied.Tabitha nodded, then forced herself to let go of the pendant and lower her paw. She watched as it nestled comfortably in the fur between Kamilya’s breasts again… at which point the ocelot realized she was now insanely jealous of a simple piece of jewelry.Kamilya shut off her shower and grabbed her towel from the hook beside it. She dried her face as she walked towards the shower entrance, looking back at Tabitha, who hadn’t moved. “You coming?” Tabitha panicked for a moment; her fevered mind applying a different definition of ‘coming’ entirely to the sentence, abruptly certain she’d been found out. But rationality reasserted itself in time. “N-nah. Nobody around, and it feels good, so I’m just g-gonna soak for a while longer, I think,” she explained, trying not to stammer. In fact, the ocelot knew she didn’t dare step out from under the water stream—if I leave the shower now, she’ll smell how turned on I am for certain!Tabitha watched Kamilya through the doorway as she dried and dressed, and was unable to mask her disappointment when the lioness pulled her shirt and slacks back on. Finished dressing, the larger feline poked her head back in the shower room. “Hey, thanks for the lunch invite, Tabitha. The game was fun too. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Kamilya called, slinging her gym bag over her shoulder. “It was. Have a good night,” Tabitha replied. The spotted feline was now dripping wet, and not just from the water. She waited until she heard Kamilya leave and the locker room door click shut, waited another minute to be sure… then moaned and sank against the shower wall, digging her fingers deep into her tingling snatch with one paw and rubbing each of her rock-hard nipples in turn with the other.She imagined finishing the job Jimail had started, slipping her paws underneath Kamilya’s interview suit while her tail clasps were still open, drinking in the hidden curves of her body, chasing away the raccoon’s touch with her own.She imagined undressing Kamilya, slowly revealing her glorious leonine form, while the lioness did the same to her.She imagined sitting on Kamilya’s lap, both of them naked and locked in an embrace, their breasts and muzzles pressed together, tongues performing a mating all their own. She imagined diving between Kamilya’s legs and burying her ocelot muzzle between them, tasting her exotic leonine juices and feeling the lioness writhe in ecstasy beneath her ministrations. Finally, she saw again the pendent hanging between her breasts, her paw barely an inch away from the soft but firm globes, perfectly proportioned and covered in cream-colored fur. The remembered image sent her crashing over the edge of climax, the ocelot dimly grateful that nobody could hear her calling Kamilya’s name. When the last of the orgasmic pulses left her, she slumped to the floor of the shower, panting and spent. *****************Walking to her truck in the parking lot, Kamilya shook her head as if to clear it. Something felt off—it almost felt like something had just happened—and she wasn’t sure what. It certainly didn’t seem like anything was wrong to the lioness—despite some early moodiness, it had been a good first full day of work. She had gotten social with her new colleagues (even some non-feline ones!), earning their respect in a pickup game and thoroughly enjoying herself in the process. She liked Tabitha, and was coming to like Vance and even the wolf Jace as well. Yet it felt like she had missed something, and couldn’t shake the maddening feeling it had been right under her nose. Ah, forget it. Let’s just get some dinner, she decided, deliberately putting it out of her mind as she climbed into her truck cab. If it’s important, I’m sure it’ll reveal itself later…WarmupTuesday, August 1, 2023The next morning, Kamilya arrived to find the gym being prepped for painting, overrun with multiple contracting crews of various stripes and species, though the latter was mostly indeterminate under their protective gear. She went to her office, figuring she had enough time to finish filling out her paperwork before the fumes got too bad, but upon arrival found a rolled-up poster and a handwritten note taped to her door:I found this in my old college things. Thought you might like to have it? –VanceCurious, she unfurled the poster, only to nearly drop it in shock when she realized what it was: the promotional poster for the Canyon State Wildcats’ female basketball team her junior year. All her old teammates were featured, but the centerpiece of the poster was a dramatic picture of Kamilya herself, soaring skyward to launch the game-winning shot that shocked the two-time defending national champion and unbeaten U-Conn Huskies at the buzzer in the third round of the national tournament the previous year. Her lip quavered and tears welled in her eyes; she remembered the game and basket vividly—I never saw a shot so clearly as that one—remembered being mobbed by her teammates and hoisted by delirious fans, carried off the court on their shoulders, a hero.Kamilya stumbled to her desk and sat down heavily, trembling with emotion. She dug her claws into her desk, blinking back tears. It was good thing that Vance wasn’t there, the lioness decided, because she wasn’t sure if she wanted more to kiss him or kill him at that moment. She rolled the poster back up and put it away in her desk drawer—out of sight if not out of mind until she could decide what to do with it. Taking several deep breaths to steady her suddenly turbulent emotions, the lioness sat down at her desk, trying to lose herself in her paperwork.An hour later, she sensed a presence at her open door. The lioness looked up and saw… “Tabitha?” Kamilya frowned. The ocelot had deep circles around her eyes, her clothes were rumpled and her head was hunched a bit forward; her fur itself seemed to be drooping. “Are you okay?”“I didn’t… sleep well last night,” the smaller feline said simply, looking for a moment that she was going to say something else. Kamilya’s brow furrowed. The ocelot’s body language was very odd. Wait a second… the lioness breathed in softly through her lips, clicking her tongue to the top of her mouth, tasting the air itself. So that’s it, she realized. “Tab… are you in heat?” she asked the other feline gently. That was not a question normally asked in polite company.Tabitha looked surprised, like she hadn’t even considered the possibility. “It… might explain it,” she admitted. Up all night with your fingers in your snatch? Kamilya guessed. Been there. Heats were relatively infrequent among females of most species, usually only occurring once or twice a year starting in the late teens, but when they happened, they were conducive to neither sleep nor rationality. “Tab… you shouldn’t be here,” she told the spotted feline, gently. It’s too easy to be taken advantage of.“I… I needed to see you.” I need to get you before Jimail does!Kamilya blinked, confused. “Me? Why?” Unless… she saw the way the ocelot was looking at her; saw the smaller feline’s body language in a whole new light. Understanding dawned on Kamilya. She’s a lesbian! the lioness processed that quickly. Did I do anything to lead her on? she wondered, mind racing. Quickly, she remembered the game, the hug, the shower, inviting her to refasten her tail clasps… Oh, shit! I did! “Tab, Tab, listen, I-I didn’t mean to…”The ocelot’s voice was now a husky whisper. “Kammy… I want you,” she said, moving slowly, as if in a trance around her desk, her eyes unnaturally wide and locked on the larger lioness, her paws releasing her blouse buttons one by one, starting from the top of the garment. “I… I need you…”“Tabitha…” Kamilya pushed back from her desk, increasingly uncomfortable at the ocelot’s approach. She could now smell the smaller feline’s arousal directly; see her nipples poking out hard through her shirt, which fell open when the last button was released, exposing the inner half of her ample black-spotted breasts—Kamilya’s eyes widened when she realized the spotted feline wasn’t wearing a bra. “Tab, I-I’m not… I can’t…” the lioness stammered, having no idea how to deal with such an advance. She tried to back away but found herself trapped in the back corner as the much smaller ocelot closed on her. As she got close, Tabitha unbuttoned her fly and shrugged out of her shorts, which fell in a soft heap behind her—she’s not wearing panties either! Kamilya realized, shocked—leaving the smaller feline naked except for open blouse hanging off her shoulders, the garment billowing out to the sides as she passed over a floor vent, revealing her breasts completely. “Kammy, please… Jimail can’t have you… I… I love you…” she declared, closing the final two feet between them and reaching for the lioness, her paws at waist level. “T-Tab...” the lioness pleaded, beginning to panic as the ocelot started to caress and unclothe her, only weakly trying to fend off the smaller feline as she ran her paws over Kamilya’s hips and pulled her shirttail free, increasingly frantic in her efforts to undress her as she yanked open the larger feline’s belt and unbuttoned her fly, tugging and clawing at her clothes. Initially afraid of hurting the smaller feline, the lioness finally acted forcefully when Tabitha began pressing her nude body closer and began trying to remove her shirt, nuzzling at the larger feline’s eye-level chest and moving her paws up Kamilya’s midsection, pulling her shirttail up with her thumbs as her paws cleared her navel and headed for her breasts. “Tabitha, STOP!” the lioness shouted, intercepting the smaller feline’s paws by the forearms, holding them—and her—tightly away. “Now listen to me!” she ordered, eyes wide and heart racing, giving the ocelot a brief but sharp shake. “Firstly, whatever happened yesterday, you’re not… thinking… clearly! You’re thinking with your heat, not your head!” she admonished her firmly. “Secondly, we’ve just met—you can’t ‘love’ me after only two days! And thirdly… I-I’m sorry, I don’t swing that way,” she said, desperately ignoring the hot, faint feeling that was still trying to overtake her. “And even if I d-did… I don’t date colleagues.” Let alone non-lion ones of the same gender!Tabitha’s lips quavered. Tears welled in her eyes. She snatched her arms back, stumbled backwards and ran out the door, still nearly naked, covering her face with her paws to stifle sobbing mews. A few seconds later, Kamilya heard her office door slam further down the hall. Trembling, the lioness sat down heavily in her chair, noticing the smaller feline’s jeans shorts were still lying in a heap on her office floor. She shouldn’t be alone, Kamilya knew, but had no idea who was best to look after her. Finding the first familiar name in the staff directory, she quickly rang Jace and asked the wolf who Tabitha was good friends with. “Uh… Serena, and Katrice,” he answered, surprised. “But why…” “Thank you,” she said curtly and hung up, cutting him off mid-sentence. I’ll apologize to him later, she promised herself, looking up and dialing Serena’s extension, praying the serval cheerleading coach was there. To Kamilya’s relief, she picked up on the second ring.“Serena? Hi, this is Kamilya Kampo… yes, the new basketball coach. Listen, I need your help…” she hesitated, wondering how much she should reveal. “I think, uh, Tabitha just came into season, she’s… v-very upset and I-I don’t think she should be alone right now… “ Kamilya heard the sounds of a chair being pushed back and the scrabbling of feet against the floor on the other end even before she completed her sentence. “She’s in her office? I’m on my way,” Serena promised, and hung up. The lioness blinked, staring at the receiver. She must know Tab well enough have figured out what happened from that little I told her. As the call ended, she looked up to see a smirking Jimail at her door, lounging against the door frame with his arms crossed smugly, dressed in blue jeans and a tight-fitting white lycra shirt. His bandage was gone, but the raccoon still bore a shiner from where she’d thrown him into a wall three days earlier, barely visible against the black backdrop of his facemask. “Well, well. Looks like Tabby got a little worked up over you,” he teased, nodding to the shorts still on the office floor, wetness visible in the crotch. “I guess she was just jealous that I got my paws on you first,” he teased, making squeezing motions at her again.Kamilya slammed down the phone, flustered. “You know, if you’re trying to make an enemy of me, Jimail, you’re well on your way,” she told him through gritted teeth.The raccoon was unimpressed. “Come on, Kammy. What did I do except loosen enough up your tight ass a bit?” he leered at her over crossed arms.She squirmed a bit at that, remembering the feeling of his paws on her backside again. “And if you try it again, you fucking maskface, I’ll rip your balls off on the spot!” she snarled, a little too shrilly.To her consternation, he laughed, as if he knew bravado when he heard it. “So what’s wrong, tawny lady? Are you mad I did it, or that you liked it?” he asked, giving Kamilya a toothy grin that showed small but sharp raccoon teeth as he stepped inside her office. The lioness stood up as well, unsheathing her claws in warning. “Looks like you were enjoying Tabby’s paws on you too,” he suggested, nodding to her disheveled state and now-visible open belt and fly, which caused the lioness to gape and hurriedly turn away to refasten them, flustered anew.He gave her a mock-disappointed look, reaching down to pick up the ocelot’s discarded shorts, making a show of smelling the crotch deeply before tossing it to her. “Consider this a pre-souvenir. She’s good, you know—almost as good as me. But you’ll find out for yourself someday,” he promised, edging closer to her, a strange certainty in his voice that gave the lioness pause, an odd headiness washing over her despite her discomfort and anger at him. “Of course, you’ll need me to compare her to first…” he noted, fearlessly closing the distance between them, the lioness feeling lightheaded at the sheer amount of musk and pheromones he was throwing off, her eyes widening as she realized he intended to try to seduce her again right then and there—and somehow, he was only too capable of it. “N-not in this lifetime or any other!” she proclaimed in a shaky voice, desperately ignoring the sudden tightness in her teats and wetness between her legs, trying to override her inexplicably growing excitement at the idea of the raccoon finishing the job of feeling up and taking her he had started the previous day. NO! she screamed internally, steeling herself to eject him but terrified of what might happen if he touched her again…To her relief, a glowering Jace appeared at the door and grabbed the male raccoon by his neck scruff. “I don’t think you’re wanted here,” he growled, yanking the smaller soccer coach backwards out of her office. Jimail looked momentarily startled but recovered quickly, giving a measured shrug. “Oh, you know she wants me, Jace. She just doesn’t want to admit it yet,” he mocked as the larger lupine hustled him away, the lioness feeling a wave of weakness wash over her at his words. *****************The wolf marched the raccoon quickly down the hallway, all but dragging the soccer coach with him as he went. “I think I can find my way from here,” Jimail told him as he was finally released outside his office, the raccoon expecting he’d get a final shove through his door.He walked through it, but to his surprise, it didn’t come. Whatever. Hey, maybe I’ll pay Tabby a visit at her home tonight. Bet she’ll be easy pickings… he grinned, the thought cut short when he heard the sound of the door lock engaging and the blinds being drawn. The raccoon soccer coach had just enough time to realize the Jace was in the office with him before wolf grabbed his scruff again, more roughly this time. “Hey! What…?” was all the smaller male got out before he found himself thrown against the wall, the much larger wolf pinning him against it with his considerable strength and weight from behind.Jimail struggled for a moment, trying to fend the larger male off with his climbing claws until Jace smacked his head into the concrete wall, stunning him, enabling the lupine to pin the raccoon’s arms behind him with one paw while his other reached in front and began slipping his belt and fly. The dazed raccoon’s eyes went wide at that. “Get off me, you fa—” he began to shout, but the words were cut off as the wolf pulled his tight lycra shirt up over his shoulders, trapping his arms above his head.“I think you’ve gotten away with this shit for way too long, maskface,” Jace snarled as he threw the raccoon against his own desk, bending him over it. “And things are going to be a little different this year!” the large lupine proclaimed as he pinned the smaller male in place with one paw against the back of his shirt-covered head while yanking the raccoon’s loosened jeans and briefs down over his rump with the other, exposing the well-defined cleft beneath his banded tail, light-gray fur contrasting sharply with the reddish-brown that was his predominate coat color. Jimail could only get out a slightly-strangled sound in response. “This is what you like to do, isn’t it?” the wolf growled low, one large paw beginning to knead the soccer coach’s bare butt, causing the raccoon to stiffen, teeth gritting and paws grasping at air as he was groped. Jimail tried to free his arms but Jace’s warning growl and blunt claws pressed into the back of his ears stopped him. “What say we see if you can take what you’re so good at dishing out?” the Dominion strength coach suggested, pushing close, reaching inside the smaller male’s loosened pants to fondle his gray-furred balls from behind, somewhat roughly. Jimail begin to whimper beneath his pulled-up shirt, the male soccer coach struggling not to squirm at being handled by the larger male. “I’ll g-go to the Headmaster!” his muffled voice threatened between gasps and gritted teeth, “I’ll t-tell everyone about your relationship! I swear!”Jace laughed, not letting up his efforts. “Go right ahead. Between all the crap you’ve pulled and the femmes you’ve fucked and fucked over, you don’t have many friends here, in case you haven’t noticed. Think anyone’s gonna listen to you?” the black-furred wolf asked him. With that, he yanked the raccoon upright by the scruff, body weight pinning the smaller male against the desk as he began to feel up his front, paws running through his chest and belly fur.“J-Jace, come on! “ the raccoon pleaded, voice beginning to waver as the larger male continued to molest him, praying the wolf wouldn’t notice he was getting excited, cursing himself for it. “I-I’m not…” I’m not a faggot! he bit tongue to stop from saying. “I don’t w-want…”Jace cut him off with a growl. “Since when have you ever given a fuck about what people want, asshole?” the wolf demanded to know, pausing to tweak the smaller male’s nipples, rubbing them to hardness. “Ain’t as much fun when it’s being done back to you, is it?”Jimail felt his knees going weak as a large lupine paw slowly dropped towards his waist, the raccoon starting to panic as he felt his cock rising quickly to meet it. “I-I’m sorry! I’ll be nice, just stop, please!”“Oh don’t worry, Jimmy. I’ll be nice, too. I won’t do anything more than what you usually do to your favorite femmes,” Jace smiled evilly through bared teeth, his paw dropping lower until it found and grasped the raccoon’s involuntarily swelling cock. “Well, well. What have we here?” he asked mockingly, stroking it to full hardness, rubbing the tip until a trickle of fluid came out. The raccoon trembled in unexpected pleasure and fear, struggling not to start humping the wolf’s paw. “You know you want me, Jimail. You just don’t want to admit it yet,” Jace pantomimed with an almost-feline purr, stroking the smaller male’s cock as he whispered in his shirt-covered ear. For once in his life, the raccoon was speechless. “So what say we find out how much I can loosen up your tight ass?” Jace asked as he withdrew his paw and bent the soccer coach back over, raising his banded tail and holding it in his muzzle.Jimail’s heart froze as he heard the sound of zipper being lowered behind him followed by the sensation of his cheeks being spread apart by the wolf’s paws. “Okay! Okay! You win! YOU WIN!” the raccoon begged. “I won’t bother Kammy again, I s-swear!” he squeaked, feeling faint.The wolf held him in that position for several seconds, letting the threat sink in. Abruptly, he flipped the smaller male over onto his back and yanked off his shirt to expose his head, bending over him and leaning in close, crotch-to-crotch and nose-to-nose, his lips curled back in a snarl. “You’d better not,” Jace growled low, pinning the raccoon with his stare as much as his paws, bared lupine teeth dwarfing Jimail’s raccoon ones. “Step out of line again, Jimail—harass or paw just one more femme, Kam or otherwise—and your tail is mine!” he promised, accenting the threat by pushing his bulge against the smaller male’s, spreading his legs wider. Jimail’s cock twitched against his belly at that, eyes wide and locked in excitement and terror with those of the wolf’s. “But then again, maybe you’d like that?” the lupine taunted, giving the raccoon’s shaft a parting tweak as he zipped up his pants and departed, leaving the half-naked soccer coach still bent backwards over his desk.After waiting nearly a minute to make absolutely certain the larger male was gone, Jimail sat up, leaning on the desk heavily for support, cock still rock hard and body trembling. Fine, BE that way you cheetah-humping, cock-sucking… he summoned up some defiance with his thoughts, closing his door and hurriedly pulling his pants back up, trying not to think about the fact he was turned on by what had happened. He just caught me off-guard, th-that’s all! M-must have been from getting hit in the head… the raccoon insisted to himself as he gingerly poked at the developing bruise on his brow, still able to feel the wolf’s paws undressing and roaming all over him, pinning him against the desk.He shivered at that, feeling his cock twitch again in his pants, straining painfully against the waistband of his jeans. He tried to will it to subside, to no avail. Forget Kammy, then, she’s more trouble than her tawny tail is worth! There are other femmes I can work on in the meantime… he reminded himself, thinking again he could visit Tabitha that night, trying to come up with ways to make sure the wolf strength coach wouldn’t find out about it. But what if he does…? In response to the worried thought, Jimail suddenly saw—and felt—the wolf fondling and feeling him up again, pinning him down against his desk and forcibly removing his clothes, and parting his cheeks as a prelude to taking him under his tail…The raccoon male came hard in his pants.*****************Jace returned to Kamilya’s office after taking some time to compose himself in the hallway, needing a few minutes for his own arousal to subside. “I think he’ll leave you alone now,” the wolf promised her. “Could’ve handled him, but thanks,” she told him, not certain she believed it. Noting an odd glint in his eyes, she guessed Jace had threatened Jimail somehow, but didn’t particularly care how, just grateful that she didn’t have to put paws on the raccoon again—or more to the point, chance his getting on her.“It’s cool,” the lupine said, closing the door behind him. “Are you okay?” Kamilya sighed heavily and leaned back against her desk, taking several deep breaths to calm her still racing heart. “Two coworkers have tried to seduce me in my first three days of work, one a femme. You’ll forgive me if I’m starting to have second thoughts about this place.”“Tabitha’s not Jimail,” Jace said quietly. “Please don’t think she was ever just trying to bed you, because I swear to you she’s not like that.” Kamilya remained silent, looking down over crossed arms. “It was the perfect storm, Kam,” he said, sensing her doubt. “You arrived just as she was getting ready to go into season; you’re a bombshell to any species—if you’ll forgive my saying—and she locked on to you. That pickup game we played probably jump-started her heat, and I’d lay odds Jimail had been goading her—it’s what he does. So please don’t hold it against her. And don’t beat yourself up over it either.” Because Tab will be beating herself up enough over it as it is. “We all like you, Kam. Believe me, none of us want to lose you because of Jimail’s jackassery, which we all have to deal with.” She nodded, feeling a little better as Serena knocked at the door to pick up Tabitha’s shorts, the serval thanking the lioness for promptly summoning her. “She’s mortified, Kamilya,” the spotted feline told the lioness upon the larger feline’s inquiry. “Please forgive her; she wasn’t in her right mind.” After returning with the garment to Tabitha’s office, Serena walked the now-dressed ocelot out a few minutes later, steadying paws on her shoulders as Kamilya and Jace followed at a respectful distance, watching them leave out the front entrance from the second-floor atrium overlook. Kamilya noticed Tabitha’s eyes were puffy from crying when she glanced up at the pair, only to look away quickly and bury her face in her paws again when she saw the lioness. Overall, the ocelot looked devastated, humiliated… and very ashamed. No, she’s not Jimail, Kamilya confirmed to herself. Jimail has no shame. Once Serena and Tabitha were out sight around the corner of the parking lot, Kamilya and Jace returned to the athletic wing, the wolf providing the lioness with an escort back to her office. “Let me know if you need anything or have any more trouble with Jimail, okay?” he told her. “I’m sure you can deal with him yourself, but there’s no reason you should have to.”In response, Kamilya leaned over and rubbed her cheek against his—a very feline gesture of affection, but one heartfelt. The black-furred wolf was surprised, but returned the gesture in a surprisingly practiced manner. “Thank you for being so sweet,” the lioness told him gratefully, astonishing herself by giving the lupine a quick peck on the cheek. Guess some canines are okay after all…“Hey, what’re friends for?” he grinned, giving her a quick tail wag.Kamilya’s nose curled as she reentered her office. The strong smell of paint and solvents was starting to waft through the halls; the intensity of the odor quickly becoming unbearable. The Headmaster had made some administrative cubicles by the main office available for the athletic staff while the renovations were underway, so it was time to gather her things and move there. But after lunch. And this time, best go alone, she decided. What a morning, Kamilya thought as she walked out of the school to her truck. Relive my greatest moment… check. Have a lesbian friend try to seduce me… check. Break said friend’s heart… check. Kiss a wolf… check. Threaten to castrate a colleague… check. And it wasn’t done yet, she knew. There was one last emotionally-charged issue that needed addressing. She took out the poster Vance had left her and looked it over, feeling her eyes well up and a renewed surge of emotion go through her. She stared at it for the better part of ten minutes, tears rolling down her cheeks more than once, emotions crashing against each other—the joy of play and victory clashing hard with the physical agony of a shattered knee… And the emotional agony of a shattered dream. Finally, she made her decision. This was a part of me. IS a part of me, she corrected herself. And maybe I’ve been hiding from it all this time. Vance is right. It’s time I honor my past. Her decision made, she drove to the nearest art store. Finding the framing desk at the back, she showed the more-than-slightly-intimidated teenaged zebra behind the counter the poster, and asked for recommendations on framing. He showed her a black-and-green frame—one that matched Wildcat team colors—and nervously named a price. “Done,” she agreed to his evident relief, filling out the work order form. He promised her it would be done by Tuesday “if that’s okay, or I can do it s-sooner?” he quickly offered, voice quavering. She had to stifle a laugh at that—instinctively, as a zebra he was terrified of her as a large lioness but as a teenage male he was taken by her curves as well; his eyes kept darting from her bust to her large predator muzzle and back. He was adorable. And she noticed he was wearing a t-shirt from a private equine academy named Green Meadows, so he definitely didn’t attend Dominion. Suddenly feeling mischievous—could I have any MORE mood swings today?—the lioness deliberately narrowed her eyes and leaned over the counter close to him, half-menacingly. He looked like he wanted to bolt, but there was nowhere he could run. “You’d better have it ready on Monday. Because if you don’t…” she curled her lips back a bit to expose the tips of her teeth and raised his chin with a single extended claw, feeling the colt tremble as he gave a soft whimper/whinny… just before she kissed him full on the lips. “Because if you don’t, you won’t get another kiss from me,” she promised him, giving him a wink and turning on her heel to leave. He looked at her wide-eyed and dazed as she left. That’ll give him something to tell his friends, she thought with a grin. As well as endless fantasy material. *****************The next two weeks of work passed uneventfully for Kamilya—remarkably so, she thought, given her first couple days. She got her poster back that following Monday, beautifully framed—keeping her promise to kiss the zebra teen again (to the openmouthed astonishment of the disbelieving equine friends he had invited to watch). Afterwards, she came back to the academy and found Vance in the faculty lounge, brewing coffee. The lioness proudly showed the framed poster to him. “Oh, so you did like it…” he began, but was cut off when she swept him close and kissed him, fully, deeply and heartfelt. The spotted cat looked at her as wide-eyed and dazed as the zebra teen had been when she broke the embrace. “And for the record, cheetah… if you ever give me another emotional shock like that poster did, I’ll rip out your liver and eat it on the spot,” she told him through a toothy grin, poking him in the abdomen, only half-joking. “Y-yes, ma’am!” Vance choked out, to the hoots and laughter of everyone in the room.The renovations progressed, but the lioness deliberately stayed away from the blocked-off athletic areas, only wanting to see them when the makeover was complete. Tabitha worked from home, waiting out her heat; Serena watched over her gave Kamilya daily reports, assuring the lioness over and over that the ocelot was mortified by what had happened and wanted nothing more than to apologize. Jimail left her alone as well; the raccoon was laying very low after the Headmaster had gotten wind of his harassment—she hadn’t told him; she suspected Jace had—and had cc’d her on a strongly-worded e-mail ordering the male soccer coach to stay away from the staff females if he wanted to keep his job, later privately telling Kamilya to come to him immediately if she had any further problems.In spite of Jimail’s absence, his presence was still felt. She found herself dreaming about her initial encounter with the raccoon soccer coach on a near-nightly basis, and each time it seemed to go a little further than it had before. The first night, he only groped Kamilya’s rear, which left her rump feeling warm upon awakening, accompanied by some minor wetness between her legs. The next night, she woke up wet and dripping as he pushed his paw between her legs from behind and probed her, leaving her clit almost painfully erect, to her great mortification. Within two more dreams he had gotten his paws inside her blouse as well, slipping them under her shoulders and inside her sleeveless top, freely fondling her breasts beneath her bra.By the end of the second week, she dreamt she was bent over her desk, blouse opened and bra pushed up with her pants down around her knees, panties mid-thigh as the raccoon positioned himself behind her and spread her cheeks preparing to take her under her raised tail, telling the lioness to just relax and enjoy it.Kamilya had woken up with the start at the moment of penetration, panting heavily, her entire body tingling and very close to climax—it had been all she could do to not dig her paws into her crotch and chest to complete the process. I am NOT getting off on THAT! the lioness told herself afterwards, taking a cold shower but terrified to go back to sleep afterwards. He’s not a lion and I’m not in heat! I shouldn’t be turned on by him OR what he did! she insisted to herself repeatedly, refusing to do anything to relieve her increasing tension.By day, the increasingly sleepless and restless lioness worked on her class curriculum and training schedules—she would be running two other gym classes aside from the one for her basketball team and would also be on call to give basketball units to other classes—and made a point to spend some more time during and after work with the other staff, as much to distract herself as be social. She went out on several occasions for lunch with Vance and Jace (who rightly insisted on waiting until Tabitha was back before buying them lunch for losing the pickup game) and a few others, picking up more friends along the way.To her great unease, the lioness was also asked out on dates twice by other staff felines. She declined politely both times—she hadn’t lied to Tabitha when she said she didn’t date coworkers. Causes too many problems, she knew from past experience, though she wouldn’t have said yes in any event. Her recent experiences with Jimail and Tabitha aside, Kamilya had nothing personally against interspecies relationships—within reason—but it simply wasn’t something she was about to indulge in herself, and honestly hadn’t expected to encounter, even at the integrated academy. Other species as colleagues? Yes. Friends? Perhaps, she ticked off. But as dates or mates? The lioness shook her head sharply. I draw the line there, and always will, she vowed with her thoughts, trying to shake off the feeling of Jimail’s paws on her rump again, or a voice quietly reminding her that she’d kissed a wolf, a cheetah and a zebra teen in the past two weeks. That doesn’t count! she insisted, flustered anew. I may tease, I may flirt, but I’m NOT interested in other species! I only mate lions, and ONLY during heats!*****************Friday, August 18, 2023The next Friday was a hot August day, and unusually humid for the front range of the Rockies. The sun was blistering down—the weather forecast said the heat wave would finally break that night when a cold front came through, but it didn’t do much good right then. Coming back from lunch, Kamilya heard the sharp tweeeeet of athletic whistles and the telltale crack of impacting plastic pads. Football practice, she knew—with opening weekend only two weeks away, the team was now in their third week of training camp, holding two-a-days until school started.Heading back inside, the lioness realized she was not only tired and restless but thoroughly sick of the small greenish-gray-fabric cubicles of the administrative offices. She wanted her own office back, but it wouldn’t be ready until the athletic wing renovations were complete on Monday. Deciding she needed a change of scenery, the lioness remembered the sounds of the football practice and though maybe she could watch. Of course, it was 96 degrees out…Hell with it. I’m a lioness. My ancestors would be ashamed of me if I couldn’t deal with a little heat. So she gathered up her work and went outside, exiting out the back of the school, heading for the sounds of the whistles.Arriving at the practice fields, she noted the football team was wearing their new practice jerseys. Blue for offense, gold for defense, she noted as she settled into the short bleachers on the south side of the field, further noting a red jersey or two on the quarterbacks. Many species were represented on the team; Kamilya couldn’t help but take some satisfaction from the fact that there were a half-dozen or so lions in the mix. The practice was watched over closely by nearly twenty trainers and coaches, running various drills for different position players over the sectioned field.At the center of the action stood head coach Peter Jermanovic; the big tiger looming even larger than his considerable size over everything. He certainly has presence, I’ll give him that, the lioness noted. He snapped instructions, dressed down one player, even dropped into a stance to take on one of his own offensive lineman to demonstrate why the player’s blocking technique was wrong. The point was made when he easily threw the cocky lion flat on his back. He showed him up. Good, Kamilya thought to herself, increasingly interested in the practice before her. Nothing more motivating than that.Surveying the rest of the field, she spotted Vance and Jace on the far sideline, in their roles as athletic trainers. Jace noticed her and waved, looking up from the ankle he was taping. She waved back just before her attention was grabbed by an explosion of hisses and snarls from the near side of the field, where a fight had broken out between two players doing receiving drills.Peter and several other coaches quickly moved in to separate the two, yanking them apart—a coyote and cougar. They got chewed out by their respective position coaches, followed by an additional tongue-lashing from their head coach, who promptly ordered the two to run wind sprints up a nearby hill, a large weighted tire slung over each shoulder. They only managed five circuits before collapsing, the cougar throwing up in the heat. Two vulpine trainers dragged them off to the sidelines and dumped ice water on them, made them drink and gave them only five minutes before ordering them back into practice.At that point Peter looked into the stands, noticing the lioness. Kamilya glanced at the now-thoroughly cowed pair and gave him a thumbs-up, indicating her approval. He gave her a quick nod of acknowledgment in reply, turning his attention back to the field. Good. That’s exactly how you do it, she knew. Tolerate no crap. Lay down the law early, and often. Let them know that you’re the alpha, and no matter how much they may want to go at it, you’ll make them regret it afterwards. *****************An hour later, the afternoon practice was winding down. Kamilya was starting to miss the school’s air-conditioned interior—I’m sure my ancestors would also have used A/C had it been available, she reasoned—and decided to return inside. The lioness entered the building through the back of the academic wing, soaking in the delicious coolness as she walked, surprised to feel some tightness in her teats as the cold air soaked into them. Nearing the front of the building, she rounded the corner to the administrative offices… And ran right into Tabitha coming the other way, the ocelot’s head colliding with her chest.The two felines leaped backwards in surprise and stammered apologies. Tabitha looked up at Kamilya wide-eyed, her tail puffing out and twitching nervously. Though discomfited herself, the lioness tried to put the ocelot—and herself—at ease. “Hey, Tab. You okay?” she asked. Tabitha nodded jerkily, trying to shake off the scent and feel of Kamilya’s bust pressed into her face. “Yeah. Um… c-can we talk?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Kamilya nodded somewhat nervously, and the pair went into an empty classroom down the hall, closing the door behind them. The lioness sat down on a chair from one of the student desks, too small for her though it was—best not stand or sit over her, she decided, not wanting to make the ocelot even more uncomfortable by looming over her. The smaller feline leaned against the teacher’s desk, mustering her courage to say what she needed to say. “Look… Kam… I’m really, really sorry for what happened the other day. You have no idea how m-mortified and embarrassed I felt afterwards,” she began, her voice trembling a bit. “Honest to gods, I didn’t realize I was in heat. I saw you, liked you, and thought you were gorgeous. Then the game, then the hug, then the shower just as I’m coming into season…” she shook her head as if to clear it. “I was blindsided. Just completely overwhelmed.” A perfect storm, Kamilya remembered Jace’s description, though she wasn’t sure she bought it, finding it hard to believe the other feline didn’t realize she was in heat. Tabitha looked like she wasn’t finished, so the lioness simply nodded, keeping her thoughts to herself.The ocelot opened her paws and raised her eyes to meet Kamilya’s for the first time. “I swear to you, Kam, I’m not some creepy dyke who’s only interested in getting inside the panties of every good-looking femme she meets,” she insisted. “I’m not Jimail. I value my friends, male or female, and the last thing I’d ever want to do is throw away a promising friendship before it had even begun because an ill-timed mating season made me do something incredibly stupid,” she told the large feline, deciding it best not to mention the role the raccoon’s goading had played. “You were absolutely right—I was thinking with my heat and not my head. And I swear to you that what happened that morning will never happen again. P-please forgive me?” she bit her quavering lip, awaiting a response.Kamilya nodded and offered Tabitha her paw. “As long as you forgive me too,” she said, quietly, her mouth dry. “I’m sorry I was so rough on you. And I’m very sorry I led you on like that, w-whether or not I realized it.” I do owe her an apology for that, at least.With that, Tabitha nearly slumped right off the desk, visibly shaking in relief. She clasped the Kamilya’s forearm with her own paw; the lioness could feel the smaller feline’s tremor through her fur. “No, d-don’t be sorry. You didn’t know about my orientation, and you did exactly what you should have done—shot me down and got me help. And I thank you for it.”The larger feline nodded, feeling a little more relaxed herself. “You’re welcome. And hey, it’s not like I’ve never been in heat myself, Tab. I know what it does to you. I promise I don’t hold this against you.” Kamilya assured her, though it wasn’t entirely true—just because you’re in season or a lesbian doesn’t mean you can’t exercise a little self-control, she couldn’t help but think.“Thank you. Oh gods, thank you, Kam,” the spotted feline exhaled raggedly, trying to steady herself against the desk. “You don’t know how terrified I was of talking to you again.” Kamilya nodded and gave her forearm a reassuring squeeze. “Look, let’s start over,” the lioness offered. “Get to know each other the right way this time. Let’s go get some dinner after work, just the two of us. I’ll treat. We can talk more.” Tabitha looked at her, surprised. “You’re sure? That won’t make you… uncomfortable?” Kamilya shrugged. A little, but I’ll manage. “I trust you that you’re not some ‘creepy dyke who just wants to get inside the panties of every good-looking femme she meets’,” she said, repeating the ocelot’s own words, trying not to remember the smaller feline about to do exactly that the morning she came into heat. “I’ve got good instincts about people, Tab. I liked you when I first met you; didn’t think you were shallow or scheming at all. “What happened doesn’t change that—particularly given my own culpability in it,” the lioness assured the smaller feline. It’s all true enough. I do like you and should have at least spotted what I was doing to you in the locker room. And hell… it’s probably time I had a gay friend anyway. “I do want to be friends with you. So come on. Stop worrying about it. Meet me after work, and I’ll treat you to this seafood place I love in midtown. Best smoked salmon you’ve ever had.”Tabitha grinned and nodded eagerly. “It’s a date!” Her expression dropped as she suddenly caught herself. “So to speak…” she added quickly.Kamilya laughed it off but was internally uneasy, wondering if the ocelot had made an honest mistake or a Freudian slip.***************** Three hours later, the two felines were sitting in a booth at the midtown seafood house, tantalizing smells of various fish and crustaceans wafting by. Kamilya took several deep breaths upon entering the restaurant—she always loved whetting her appetite with those wonderful aromas.When they sat down, their complimentary appetizers—the promised smoked salmon—was delivered by a young, bespectacled otter waitress who Kamilya noticed was promptly ogled by Tabitha. “Try it. You won’t be disappointed,” the lioness told the ocelot after their drink orders were taken, motioning towards the salmon. Tabitha picked up a piece, sniffed it, bit into the raw orange flesh. Her eyes first widened then narrowed to slits as she slowly chewed the tender meat, savoring every morsel. “Gods, that’s heaven on a plate,” she purred, licking the juice off her fingers. Kamilya grinned, and took her own piece. The wonderfully soft and perfectly smoked raw meat melted in her mouth, as always.“Noticed you looking our waitress over. Enjoying a little eye candy before dinner?” the lioness teased as she licked her fingers.The ocelot grinned toothily. “And during dinner,” she retorted, pointing a digit at the lioness. “You’re eye candy too, Kam. I won’t touch, but I never said I won’t look,” she told the lioness with a glint in her eye. Kamilya chuckled, if a little uncomfortably. Certainly an honest answer! “Oh, so you’re undressing me with your eyes right now, then?” she asked, trying to master her nerves by making light of the ocelot’s attention. Tabitha cocked her head and grinned again. “Well, I wasn’t, but now that you mention it…” she teased back. I’d much rather undress you with my paws! the thought came unbidden, the ocelot suppressing the sudden memory of beginning to do exactly that in Kamilya’s office the morning she came into heat. “Let’s not go there. I’m here to talk and get to know you, not to ogle you, remember?”Kamilya chuckled again, this time in relief. Maybe she does have some sense of propriety after all. “Sorry. Admittedly, I can be a bit of a tease myself sometimes. For example…” she told Tabitha about kissing the zebra teen at the framing store. The smaller feline was laughing hard by the time the story was finished. “That poor colt probably didn’t know if he was going to piss or cream himself,” the ocelot giggled. “Oh, and you’ll have to show me that poster, too…”“My pleasure. It’ll be up in my office as soon as the renovations are done,” Kamilya promised—the athletic wing renovations were supposed to be completed by Monday. “Just come on by.”“I will, thanks.” At that moment, the otter waitress returned with their drinks, and they placed their orders. Tabitha asked for the king crab platter—good choice, Kamilya approved—while the lioness got her own favorite, whole Cajun-seasoned trout. When the waitress left, the two felines clinked their glasses together in a toast.“So Tab… you played basketball in school. You’re a damn good player, too. Why’d you give it up?” Kamilya asked, sipping her wine and trying to make conversation.Tabitha took a swig of her beer as the question was asked, swallowing before answering. “I was decent enough, but being an undersized point guard playing for a second-tier school, I was never going to play professionally. And soccer was my first love—I was actually a two-sport player.”The lioness was impressed in spite of herself—mastering one sport had taken all her time and energy; she couldn’t even imagine trying to do two. “What position did you play in soccer?” “Goalie,” the ocelot replied. “There are some semi-pro female soccer leagues out there, but nothing I could really make a living off of.”Kamilya smiled as she thought of something. “I guess that explains how you were able to grab and steal passes so easily in the pickup game. Stopping all those shots on goal.”The spotted feline grinned. “Compared to facing corner kicks and penalty shots, picking off passes in basketball is pretty easy, yeah…” her voice trailed off; she looked suddenly wistful, eyes distant.Kamilya smiled, taking another sip of her wine. “Pleasant memories?”“You might say,” Tabitha looked back at her, wondering if it was okay to tell her. “Just remembering somebody I knew on my soccer team.” And another locker room shower experience that reminded me of the one with you.“Say no more,” Kamilya chuckled a little uneasily, not sure why she suddenly flashed back to the shower they’d taken together. “So I take it you’re not in a relationship at the moment?”“Not right now, no.” Tabitha replied, turning more serious. “You could probably guess this, but my last real relationship was with Serena,” the smaller feline said, returning her attention to her beer. “And you’re right, you know. Dating colleagues can be very problematic.”Kamilya nodded, but was inwardly surprised—Serena too? “So what happened, if it’s okay to ask?” she inquired, suddenly wondering how many of her colleagues weren’t straight.Tabitha’s brow furrowed, remembering. “Well, I guess you could say we got together as… a form of refuge. But it ending up causing work issues and we broke it off within a few months. Stayed friends, though.”The lioness was confused. “What do you mean, ’refuge?’” The ocelot looked suddenly subdued and lowered her voice. “First two months of school last year were not pleasant ones. I don’t think we were the only faculty who ended up in bed together because of it.” Far from it, in fact, Tabitha didn’t add, continuing when she noticed Kamilya’s uncertain look. “To make it through that time, we all needed emotional support, and we got it wherever we could. In mine and Serena’s case… that was in each other’s arms.”Kamilya blinked; the picture of the two femme felines together strangely—and disconcertingly—compelling. “Was it really that bad?” she asked, trying to clear the image from her mind by remembering some of the news articles she’d read. “Yes,” Tabitha said quietly, ears flattening a bit and tail twitching behind her. “I’m sorry, but… I’d rather not talk about it.”In spite of her sudden distraction and discomfort, Kamilya’s curiosity was piqued—what the hell happened last year?—but she heard the pain in Tabitha’s voice and dropped it. Not like I don’t know what it is to have subjects too painful to discuss, the lioness reminded herself.“So I’ve been out of the loop for a bit… how have these last couple weeks been for you? Been asked out yet?” Tabitha teased, eager to change the subject.Kamilya tensed and nodded, still ill-at-ease at being asked out by other species. “Twice already, both declined,” she acknowledged, leaving out the fact that she wasn’t interested in non-lions anyway. “But as good-looking as you are, I’m sure you get plenty of interest as well,” she said with a grin, teasing her spotted friend right back.Tabitha’s ears flushed at the compliment, her cheeks warming a little beneath her fur. “I occasionally get asked out, sure. But if they’re not femmes, I’m not interested,” she said, sipping her beer.Kamilya voiced her next question without thinking. “So you’re not into males, Tab? Even a little bit?” Tabitha gave the lioness a very annoyed look. “So you’re not into females, Kam? Even a little bit?” she deadpanned. Kamilya winced—turning the question around made her realize how condescending and insulting it was. “Sorry.”“It’s okay. But to answer your question, I’m not some militant male-hating lesbian who thinks that femmes should only have sex with other femmes,” Tabitha said. “For the record, I have been with a couple males during heats.” And once when I wasn’t, she belatedly admitted to herself, vehemently insisting with her thoughts it didn’t count. “Wasn’t bad, just didn’t have… the connection and intensity I feel when I’m with girls,” she explained, shrugging. “It’s the way I’m wired, Kam. I can’t help it. I came to terms with it a long time ago. And you know what?” she concluded, raising her eyes to Kamilya. “I like being this way, and I wouldn’t want to be anything else.”Kam nodded her acceptance, if not really understanding—can’t fathom being attracted to females, let alone to those of other species! “Sorry. Guess that was a pretty stupid thing to ask.” “Don’t worry about it. I’ve heard a lot worse, believe me,” the ocelot noted, spearing another piece of salmon with a claw. “So how about you, Kam? Anyone in your life? Now or previously?” The lioness shrugged, clasping her paws. “Not now, no. A few dates in school, couple fleeting relationships since. Usually a two-or-three-night stand during heats. But nothing that’s lasted. Or at least nothing I’ve been interested in pursuing.” “I’m not surprised,” Tabitha said, popping another piece of salmon into her muzzle. At Kamilya’s quizzical look, she went on. “You strike me as the type of person who’s more mated to her work than anything else. Think it’s fair to say, your one true love is basketball.” And I never saw your eyes and face as alive as when we were playing that pickup game. The lioness thought about that, deciding there was something to it. “It’s a fair statement,” she agreed. “Comes from upbringing, I guess.” “Strict parents?” Tabitha ventured a guess. “Depends on how you want to define that,” the larger feline replied, taking the final piece of salmon for herself. “When I showed interest and talent in basketball, they made that my life—sent me to day camps, seminars, summer leagues… the works. They pushed me pretty hard, but I didn’t mind because I loved playing so much,” she remembered. “By the time I got to high school, my days were classes, basketball and homework, and that was pretty much it.” No junk food or television, no video games or music, only approved books and activities and very limited internet… she ticked off mentally, fighting back a sudden wave of resentment aimed mostly at her mother, who had once grounded her for a month for having a lion teen fashion magazine in her bookbag.The ocelot was dubious. “Doesn’t seem very well-rounded.”Kamilya shook her head. “It wasn’t. But I have to give them credit—it worked. Turned me into a top player and got me a full scholarship to a good university.” For all the fucking good it did me, she thought bitterly, glancing down at her crippled knee. “And then you were hurt,” Tabitha noted. Kamilya’s expression dropped a bit. “That’s something I’d rather not talk about, Tab,” the lioness said quietly. The ocelot looked up and was startled at the sudden pain she saw in Kamilya’s ice blue eyes. Another wound that will never heal, she realized, resisting the impulse to hold the larger feline’s paw. She’ll fit in with us just fine, then.The otter waitress returned with their dinners. She served them both—Tabitha stealing a quick glance down her shirt when she bent over to lower the tray, to Kamilya’s mingled discomfort and amusement—refilled their drinks, and left them to their meal. *****************The two felines continued chatting as they finished their dinner and split a large slice of key lime pie for dessert. After settling the bill—Tabitha insisted on paying her share despite Kamilya’s earlier offer to treat—they cleaned their muzzles and paws up in the washroom. “Great place. Thanks for taking me here,” Tabitha said from a sink over.“My pleasure,” the lioness replied, inwardly congratulating herself on the tolerance she’d shown that day—making the effort to befriend the ocelot despite her earlier lack of self-control and unfathomable sexual preferences. “Though I would have paid, you know…” Tabitha shook her head and grinned. “If it’s not a date, I insist on paying half. Far as I’m concerned, I’m in your debt just for introducing me to this place. I’m sure as hell making it one of my favorite dinner spots.”When they went outside, dusk had fallen and the air was alive with electricity—lightning was flashing all over the northern and eastern sky illuminating towering thunderheads, punctuated by a near-continuous rumbling that was getting closer even as they listened, a sudden breeze kicking up leaves and dust. Storm coming. Well, should be able to beat it home… “Ah, shit,” Kamilya suddenly said, pawing at her pockets.Tabitha looked at her. “What’s wrong?” “I’m missing my cellphone. Hold on a sec…” she explained, going back inside to their table to look for it, returning a minute later. “Not there. I must have left it back at the school in the admin cubes. Gotta go back for it,” she sighed. “It’s my only phone.”Tabitha looked concerned, glancing at the ominous northern sky. “Well… be careful, okay? Looks like it’s gonna be bad. Wait it out there if you have to,” she advised. “And do me a favor, call me when you get home and let me know you made it?”“Will do,” the lioness promised, taking down her cell number. “Have a good weekend.” ................
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