CAUTION: This story contains implied sexual activity between minors, mild violence, and profanity. Reader discretion is advised.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Masala Chai
by IndigoNeko and TaintedThylacine
Chapter 12
Monday, April 4th, 2016
Elizabeth’s ears perked up as she heard the house phone ring, distracted from doing her math homework. The little half-stoat yawned, showing a muzzle full of sharp tiny teeth. She looked down the long table that she and Chris were using as a desk, glancing at the yapok. “Did you finish question nine yet?”
“Yes,” Chris said, still writing on hir homework sheet.
“What’d you get?” Elizabeth asked.
“Twenty-eight.”
Elizabeth sighed, then flipped her pencil over and started erasing the numbers she’d written. Now she had to go through it again. Either she’d gotten the wrong answer or Chris had, and the former was far more likely than the latter.
The speaker-box on the wall came to life with a crackle and a hiss. “Elizabeth? Alex is on the phone,” Charlotte said over the intercom.
The young hybrid dropped her pencil and quickly stood, darting over to the intercom. “I’ll be right down,” she said after pressing the blinking button along the bottom edge.
“Don’t forget your new phone,” Chris said, gesturing at the device. “Have Alex call you on it so you can talk up here.”
“Ooooh, right,” Elizabeth said, grabbing her phone before running out the door and down the stairs to the land-line phone on the second floor. She lifted the handset off the cradle and held it to her head. “Hey Lexi!”
“Hi Lizzy,” the tigress on the other line said, brightly. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” the half-stoat said, smiling. “Father bought me a new phone. Can you call me back on it?” Elizabeth held out her brand new iPhone.
“Sure,” Alex replied. “Give me a minute.”
“Okay, I’ll be waiting,” the little stoat said, setting the handset down on the receiver and staring down at the phone screen.
A moment later the house phone rang again. Elizabeth blinked and picked up the receiver. “Uh, hello?”
A sigh came from the other line. “You need to give me your phone number first, Lizzy.”
“Oh... right,” Elizabeth said, flushing with embarrassment. She held out the phone and opened up the contacts list, pulling up her phone number. “Here, It’s Five-Oh-Three... Six-eight-four...
A minute later, the little stoat walked up the stairs, pushing open her door and stepping inside. “So, yeah... Both our mothers are definitely pregnant. They’re not due for another five months, though.”
Chris looked up as Elizabeth walked into their bedroom. “Tell Alex I said ‘Hi’,” the yapok said, remembering the young tigress that had spent Christmas break with them.
“Wait...” Elizabeth said, holding her phone out and tapping a button. “There, Alex, you’re on speakerphone. Chris wants to say ‘Hi’.”
“Hi Chris!” The tigress’s voice echoed from the phone as Elizabeth walked across the room and sat down on her bed.
“Hey Alex,” Chris said with an evil grin as a thought popped into hir head. “Our moms aren’t the only ones pregnant. Remember when you said you were gonna put baby tiger-striped yapoks in me during Christmas break? Yeaaah...”
Silence reigned; Elizabeth caught on pretty quick and covered her mouth trying not to giggle. She reached over to scoop up the half-grown pet cat sleeping on her pillow and dropped the feral feline on her lap. She rubbed her fingers over its head while it let out a few discontented meows.
“Uhhh... You’re pregnant?!” Alex asked after several seconds, clearly panicking. Shi went silent again for a few more seconds. “No way. You’re pulling my tail.”
Elizabeth started laughing. “Yeah, shi’s joking,” she said as the kitten in her lap curled up in an attempt to resume its interrupted nap.
A sigh of relief came from the phone. “Jerks.” The tigress went silent for a moment as Elizabeth and Chris laughed, before continuing. “Sooo, I went on my first real date on Saturday. This tiger boy who I met once a few months ago showed up at mom’s dojo while I was there during spring break...”
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Saturday, April 9th, 2016
“Thanks, Dad!” Alex said as shi stepped out of hir dad’s SUV.
“You’re welcome, Love. Call me when you want me to come pick you up,” David replied with a smile.
“Okay, Dad. Love you,” Alex said, shutting the passenger door and turning around. This was definitely the right address; it was the same place they’d dropped Ravi off at last week and the number on the house matched the number that he had texted hir earlier.
Alex could have walked here, but a cold front had come in earlier that week, dumping close to three inches of snow on the ground. Most of it had melted, but it was still cold and wet, and shi didn’t want to risk slipping and sliding down the muddy hill at the northern edge of Aspen Glen to get to the Aspen Glade subdivision where Ravi’s house was. Luckily Dad had been willing to drive hir over.
The Bassi residence fit right in with the others in the neighborhood. The house itself was on the older side, but it was well taken care of, with a coat of tan-colored paint on the siding that was only a year or two old at most. The small porch on the two story house had a two person swing, a few chairs, and a table and the front yard had a number of flower beds that were waiting to be filled, and a bird bath that was iced over.
Alex walked up to the house, Dad’s car idling behind hir as he waited to make sure it was the right place. The tigress stepped up onto the porch, straightening hir tight-fitting green tee-shirt and loose beige capris, and knocked on the door. There was a clatter from the other side of the door along with someone yelling something in a different language, followed by Ravi and Aruna’s voices arguing about getting to the door first.
“Hello Alex,” Ravi said as he opened the door for Alex, his sister standing behind him. The teenaged white tiger was wearing gray pants and a t-shirt, and his younger sister was wearing a blue dress. “Come in.” He stepped to the side to let hir in, waving at the white SUV in the street as it began to drive off.
“Hi Alex,” Aruna said happily as she looked at the tigress. “How are you?”
“Hi Ravi, Aruna,” Alex replied, stepping inside. “I’m good. I got to do a bit of snowboarding yesterday, thanks to that storm that rolled in Thursday night,” shi said, looking around as Ravi shut the door behind hir.
The inside of the house was well taken care of, clean and inviting. The house contained a mixture of American furniture and Indian decorations. East Indian paintings, cloth rugs and tapestries hung on the walls, small religious statues dotted the shelves, and colorful blankets were draped over the sofa and chairs.
“You must be Alexandrea,” a deep voice with an Indian accent called out, followed by a tall and stocky orange tiger wearing slacks and a burgundy shirt stepping into the living room from the hallway. “It’s nice to meet you,” he said, holding his paw out to her. “I’m Atman.”
“Nice to meet you too, sir,” Alex said, shaking his hand. “I sort of thought you’d have white fur,” shi commented, glancing over at the other two tiger cubs, “like Ravi and Aruna.”
The father laughed. “Well, we seemed to hit the lottery with the kids, both times,” the older tiger said. While Ravi clearly got his height from his father, he hadn’t gotten his size; his father was built like a wall. “I guess that my mother’s genes were stronger than we thought.”
“Is this the... girl?” Another voice spoke up; an older, feminine voice.
“Yes, grandma,” Ravi called back as an elderly white tiger woman in a fuschia dress stepped into the living room from the kitchen and dining area, her paws covered in flour.
“Ahhh, it’s nice to meet you,” the elderly tigress said, with an even thicker accent than Atman’s. “I’m Lanka,” she added, nodding to Alex.
“Nice to meet you too, ma’am,” Alex said, bowing to Ravi’s grandmother. “I like the decorations you’ve got,” shi said, gesturing at the ornate tapestries hanging on the walls. “They’re really cool.”
“Thank you,” the elderly tigress said, motioning towards one of the bigger ones. “These... from India. Excuse me, I’m helping Sevita,” she said with a nod before slipping back into the kitchen. It was obvious that she didn’t have the best grasp of the English language.
Alex looked around during the awkward pause. When shi noticed the shoe rack by the door, shi quickly knelt and undid the laces on hir tennis shoes.
“Alexandrea, do you have any kind of allergies to foods or anything that we should know about?” Atman asked, smiling warmly at the cub.
“Umm, not that I know of,” Alex said, setting hir shoes on the rack and standing back up. “Though I did throw up once after eating a bhut jolokia pepper. Dad told me not to, but I did anyway. It was spicy.”
Atman chuckled. “Well, good news there: we don’t cook with them. And don’t feel bad. I did the same thing after I ate one in college,” the father said, waving one hand. “I will let you kids go off to study or play games. I will be right down here in the sitting room if you need anything,” he said before turning and walking back down the hallway.
“So Alex, want to hang out in my room? Maybe TV or games?” Ravi asked as he walked to the stairs leading up to the second floor.
“That’s not what you two are going to do… Ravi and Alex K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Aruna sang as she darted past her brother, heading up the steps.
“Aruna, behave,” Ravi said, blushing. “Don’t mind her, Alex.”
Alex didn’t say anything; after all, Aruna would have been right... if they were still dating. After seeing Ravi without his shirt in the park, shi’d come to the conclusion that asking him if they could try being friends before they started dating might have been a mistake. As shi followed the other two tigers upstairs, shi glanced up, catching a glimpse under Aruna’s short, pale blue dress. Shi almost tripped, thinking for a second shi had seen something naughty before realizing the girl was wearing bright pink panties.
“You okay there, Alex?” Ravi asked as he walked up the steps, turning back around after hearing the thump.
“Uhhh, Yeah. Sorry,” Alex replied as shi caught hirself with the railing. “I’m fine,” shi said, glancing down at the stairs as shi continued to follow them up.
“Okay. I always thought that bottom step was a little off,” Ravi said as he led hir down the short hallway, stepping into the first room on the right. “This is my room. Aruna is across the hall,” he said pointing to the kitten that was making kissy faces at them.
“Aruna! We haven’t done anything like that,” Alex protested, getting flustered. “We decided on being friends before we start dating.”
“I’m sorry. You two are kinda cute together,” Aruna said, folding her ears down, looking at the tigress from her bed. “I can make up for it,” she said, getting up and going over to her vanity, picking up a basket and showing off the contents. “I could do your nails.”
“Wow, you weren’t kidding about having lots of colors,” Alex said, stepping into the younger tigress’ room and peering into the basket. “But I’ve never had my claws painted before. How long does it take?”
“Well, if you don’t move or anything, maybe like ten minutes,” Aruna said, looking up at the other tigress, her tail wiggling happily. “We can all go to Ravi’s room and you can watch him play that racing game.”
“Is that okay?” Alex asked, turning to the tiger boy.
“Sure,” Ravi said, stepping into his room. “Make yourself at home.” He walked over to the TV and turned it on, followed by the PS4 as well, grabbing both controllers. “Aruna, let Alex have the chair. I don’t know if she likes bean bags,” he said, flopping onto another black leather bean bag chair.
“I’m okay with bean bags. We have a few in our guest room,” Alex said as shi looked around the room. The boy’s room was like the rest of the house, clean and taken care of, almost to the point that you wouldn’t think that a teenager lived in it. The walls were dotted with posters from a few American movies along with some from India. His large, four-post bed sat against the back wall, covered in brightly colored blankets and pillows, matching the Indian decor of the rest of the house. The entertainment station that he had housed his TV, his PS4, games and a fairly large number of books in English and Hindi.
“Either way,” Aruna said. She rushed over to the desk, where the chair was, before sitting down. She spun in the seat and rolled it over to the other bean bag. “Come sit down.”
“Okay,” Alex said, sitting down on the bean bag. “So how does this claw-painting stuff work?”
“You just paint it on,” Aruna said, handing Alex the basket. “It doesn’t hurt your nails or anything, but after a while it chips off and you need to repaint it,” she said, watching Alex pick through the rainbow of colors.
“She has so many colors, but I think that I’ve only ever seen her wear pink,” Ravi spoke up as he glanced over to the two girls, waiting for the game to load.
“I like pink, but it would only go with my pajamas. I don’t have any pink day-clothes, and the school uniform is navy blue and grey,” Alex said, picking through the collection of small bottles. “Maybe… Oh, I like this one,” shi said, pulling out a bottle of pearl white nail-polish.
“Oooh. Good idea. That’ll go with anything,” Aruna said, taking the polish and setting aside the basket. “Paw please,” she said, patting her knee.
“Kay,” Alex said, holding hir paw out and setting it on Aruna’s knee. Shi flexed hir fingers slightly, extending hir claws as far as they’d go. Shi had filed the tips down and buffed them two weeks ago, but the outer husks had fallen off and they were almost sharp again.
Aruna started purring as she shook the jar, then opened it. “It’s been, like, forever since I got to do someone else’s nails. Ravi won’t let me do his.” The younger white tigress giggled as she held Alex’s paw and started painting hir claws, taking her time to make sure that she didn’t get any nail-polish elsewhere. Aruna’s little pink tongue stuck out just a tiny bit as she worked.
“I would let you, but I would look a little weird with pink... or any color nails,” the older brother snickered as he flipped through the PS4 menu to start the Project CARS game that he had in the system.
“Aruna, you’re in fourth grade, right?” Alex asked, watching Aruna painting hir claws. “I was in fourth grade last year. I miss it; it was a lot more fun. Sixth grade is tough.”
“Wait...” Aruna tilted her head, looking up at Alex’s face. “How old are you?” she asked before looking back down to finish the other tiger’s claws. “If you were in the fourth and then the sixth, you’d be, like, ten? Eleven?” she asked.
“Yep, I’m ten,” Alex replied. “When I got here, they had me take some tests and told me I could skip fifth grade, so I did. I didn’t have any friends here, so...”
“Well, I’m nine, so... We could be friends,” Aruna said with a nod as she moved onto another claw. “It would be cool to have someone my age to do stuff with... that is, if I can sneak you away from Ravi,” She said with a smirk. “Sooo, what kinda stuff do you like? Movies? Sleepovers? Oooh... plushies?”
“Oh, I love sleepovers,” Alex said with a smile, “and I’ve got a few plushies too. Not as many as my friend Lizzy did though. She had dozens of them. I really like watching movies too, and playing racing games like this one,” shi said, nodding to the television where Ravi had started a race.
“I have a bunch of movies,” the younger tigress said as she started on the last claw. “I’m kinda okay at racing games. I crash a lot though. Oh, and I don’t have that many plushies... like four on my bed and one of the reeaally big ones.”
“What else... Oh, right,” Alex mused. “Also games like Ori and the Blind Forest, and Minecraft. I like drawing, and sometimes reading. But most of all, I like hiking, snowboarding, and karate. I really want to learn how to do flips and stuff like Ravi showed me last week.”
“It’s fun watching Ravioli do the flips and stuff,” Aruna agreed, nodding. “Now keep your claws out for a few minutes to let it dry.”
“Ravioli, huh? He does look pretty tasty,” Alex said with a giggle, glancing over at the white tiger boy. “Especially with his shirt off,” shi added quietly. Then shi realized what shi’d said and slapped one paw over hir mouth. “Oh my God. Did I say that out loud?”
“Ooooh!” Aruna giggled happily as she took Alex’s other paw back away from her mouth to start painting the claws on hir other hand. “You so did.”
“Alex!” Ravi gasped, blushing furiously. His car hit a wall as he turned to look at hir. “I, ahhh, I...” The young white tiger had no idea what to say to that. After a moment he turned back to his game.
“Aaanyway, I’d like to go snowboarding,” Aruna continued, “but Mom and Dad say it’s too dangerous with my condition.” She sighed. “They might take me skiing for my tenth birthday, though.”
As Aruna continued painting hir nails, Alex looked up from watching the TV. “Wait… What condition?”
“Well, she was a bed-wetter for a long time,” Ravi said, smiling at his sister, laughing at the look on her face.
“Raaaaaavi!” Aruna huffed angrily, pausing for a moment before returning to painting Alex’s claws.
“That was mean, Ravi,” Alex said with a twinge of anger, frowning at him. Shi knew just how embarrassing it was to have a problem like that.
“Sorry,” the boy apologized, ears folding over as he turned back to his game again.
“I have cogge... con-gen-ital in-sens-itiv-ity to pain,” Aruna continued, sounding out the bigger words. “It means that I can't feel pain,” she explained, focused on doing Alex’s claws.
“Wait... what?” Alex asked in disbelief. If anything, that sounded like a good thing, and shi said as much. “That doesn’t sound like a bad thing to me. Can you feel normal stuff that you touch?” shi asked. “And is it just pain, or can you not feel pleasure too? Some cats have this weird pain-as-pleasure thing...” Alex went silent; shi didn’t want to admit that shi had it.
“I can feel normal stuff, like pressure,” Aruna said, smiling and squeezing Alex’s paw. “I just can’t feel pain. It’s cool, but it’s really bad too. If I got a broken bone or something like that, I wouldn’t know.”
“We’ve known about it since shi was a toddler,” Ravi said. “She’d start chewing on her fingers or tongue until they were bloody. That’s what got all the tests started.”
“So, I have to be super careful, like, all the time, and it’s kind of boring,” Aruna said, poking her tongue out. That was when Alex noticed that she was missing the tip of her tongue. “Okay, all done,” she said happily. “Keep the claws out for a bit.”
“Huh. I guess that would kind of suck. You wouldn’t know if you’d done something bad, and you might break your tail or something and not realize it. Do you have to go in for periodic x-rays or something to check?” Alex asked.
“I do, and it sucks. I don’t like having to lay in the tube thing,” Aruna confirmed looking through her nail polish basket.
“I’m kinda surprised that she doesn’t have a permanent kink in her tail,” Ravi said looking over at his sister and her tail.
“I don’t shut it in doors that often,” Aruna said. “So, Alex... Like your nails?”
“Yes,” Alex said, holding hir paws up and inspecting hir pearly claws, watching the shifting colors that danced across them as shi moved. “That’s cool. Think they’ve got something to make them look like metal?”
“Ooooh, they do!” Aruna exclaimed, smiling happily. “But you gotta get it at a salon or it just looks like plastic. I wonder if I could get Mom to take us out for manis and pedis.” The younger tigress’s tail twitched excitedly.
“So, how long do I have to wait for this to dry?” Alex asked, holding hir claws out and glancing over at the racing game. “Not that I mind watching, but I’d like to play too.”
“They should be dry in a minute,” Aruna said, reaching out to touch a claw on the first paw she’d done and nodding. “Yup. You’re good with that paw,” she said happily.
“Cool. So, since you asked me what I like to do... What do you like to do?” Alex asked looking back at Aruna.
“Well... I like movies and cartoons. Reading is fun, but I don’t like to do a lot of it. Ummm,” Aruna paused for a moment, thinking. “I like Minecraft a lot too. I like to build really big, fancy houses. I want to be an architect someday,” she said proudly. “Ummm, other than that, I don’t do a whole lot other than home and school.”
“After Ravi and I have a race or two, maybe you could show me some of the stuff you’ve built in Minecraft?” Alex asked. “Lizzy and I used to play that a lot; it was fun.”
“Okay! That would be fun,” Aruna agreed, getting up and starting out of the room giggling happily as she left with the basket of nail-polish in paw, leaving the other two tigers alone. For a few moments, Alex was quiet, watching as Ravi finished his current race.
“So, ahhh, what you said before, about me being shirtless... ” Ravi started, his ears flushing red as he looked over at the tigress, and holding out a controller. “Did... Did you mean it?”
“Oh, by the Lady,” Alex groaned, dropping hir face into hir paws. “I’m so embarrassed. I can’t believe I said that out loud,” shi said before accepting the gamepad.
“I don’t know, I thought it was kind of cute,” Ravi said, smirking. “Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.” The white tiger boy turned back to the TV, setting up a 2-person race.
“I... Okay,” Alex said, blushing furiously under hir fur.
“Also, I can teach you to do those flips, if you want. It’s a while ‘til dinner and you’re dressed for it,” Ravi said as the announcer started counting down. “Or I could play something on the kamancheh.”
“Uhhh, let’s do a couple of races, then go see what Aruna’s made in Minecraft,” Alex said “Then I’d really, really, really like to learn how to do those flips you did last week. Please?” shi asked plaintively.
“Well then, that sounds like a plan to me,” Ravi agreed, smiling as the announcer finished counting down and the race started. Both of their cars launched off the starting line, engines revving as they barrelled down the straightaway, headed towards the first turn.
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Wednesday, April 13th, 2016
Sighing with disgust, Raenne held out the remote and clicked the power button, dropping the TV controller back on the sofa before standing up to go get the mail. The conservative party’s efforts to prevent interspecies marriage was something that had been around for decades... centuries, actually. But lately it seemed that it was all the political pundits could talk about. When she’d been a cub, the reason for being anti-interspecies marriage was the difficulty of bearing interspecies children as being ‘God’s Will’. Now they were using the platform of ‘hybrid sterility’ as the reason for banning interspecies marriage, and potentially making it a crime to have a hybrid child.
The tigress went downstairs to check on her cubs before going outside to get the mail, musing over the issue. While she didn’t think hybrid sterility was a reason for banning interspecies marriage, she also felt it was unfair to deliberately bring a hybrid kid into the world, knowing that they were highly unlikely to be capable of having children of their own... or utterly impossible if their parents had been wildly different species.
At least the hermaphrodite rights activists had gotten their way, getting it designated as a protected minority over the past few years. There was still a movement to have pre-adolescent sex-assignment surgery banned nationwide, but at least there weren’t widespread public demonstrations about it.
Raenne flipped through the stack of mail on her way back into the house, absentmindedly closing the garage door behind herself and locking it. Most of it was junk mail, but one was a large envelope that she had been expecting from Pullman and Pratt, the attorneys who handled her parents’ estate.
After making her way upstairs from the garage, the tigress tossed most of the mail on the kitchen island, then pulled a paring knife from the knife block and slit open the envelope. It was a surprisingly thick packet of paper explaining all of the details regarding the trust that her parents had set up in her daughter’s name.
Raenne still had no idea why, much less how they’d managed to set up a trust for Alex when they hadn’t even known hir full name until a day or so before they’d died. On the bright side; she and David wouldn’t have to worry about paying for college (or much of anything else) for at least one of their three kids. The only catch was that they needed to set up a joint bank account for Alex to receive the yearly deposits from the trust... and monthly deposits after shi turned 18.
Maybe they could go to their local credit union after Alex got back from school later and open an account. Introducing their daughter to the concept of having a checking account along with a checkbook and debit card would probably be a good idea now that shi was getting familiar with the idea of getting an allowance. Teaching Alex to save money for bigger purchases was probably smarter than letting hir spend it all at the arcade during hir daily ‘hikes’ after school.
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Thursday, April 14th, 2016
The living room was quiet, television dark. Sevita lounged on the sofa with one of the brightly colored throws draped across her legs. The slender white tigress was carefully running a needle and thread through the fabric within the embroidery ring, practicing her chikankari. Lanka had already retired, going to bed early as was her habit. Atman walked in and sat down on the recliner, taking care not to sit too quickly, lest the footrest pop out before he’d gotten comfortable.
After shifting to get into a comfortable position, the heavyset tiger leaned back and picked up the remote before reaching down to pull back the handle and extend the footrest. A moment later, the television flickered to life, the familiar face of Jim Cramer appearing. As usual, the rodent was ranting about some new public stock option, though the volume was too low to tell precisely which stock he was mad about this time.
Sometime later the sound of little paws padding down the stairs caught the two older tiger’s attention as Aruna rounded the corner and into the living room. “Mom, Dad. I have a question,” she announced.
“What is it sweetie?” Sevita asked, looking up from the embroidery ring that she sat in her lap.
“You know how Ravi got to have Alex over last week? Can I have a turn and have her over for a sleepover?” the young tigress asked, shifting on her paws as both of her parents looked at her.
“Isn’t shi a bit old for sleepovers?” Sevita asked, tilting her head. “I wouldn’t mind hir coming over to visit, but shi might be too old to do some of the things that you like to do.”
“Buuuuut moooom, she’s almost the same age as me. She’s ten.” Aruna huffed a little at the implication that she was too young to hang out with her brother and Alex. “She’s only a year older and she likes the same things that I do, like sleepovers and movies and Minecraft. She even let me paint her claws.” The young tigress was going to continue, but stopped when her mother lifted a paw up to get her attention.
“Did shi tell you that shi’s ten? Or is this something you’re making up ‘cause you want hir to spend the night?” Sevita asked, giving her daughter a look.
“She told me!” Aruna took a breath. “Raaaaavi, tell Mom and Dad how old Alex is,” she said loudly, getting a shushing sound out of her parents.
“Indoor voice,” Atman warned as Ravi came down the steps and into the living room. “Your grandmother is sleeping.”
The tiger boy glanced at his younger sister before turning to his parents. “Alex is ten,” Ravi confirmed. “Shi’s super smart, so shi skipped fifth grade. That’s why shi’s in middle school.”
The two older tigers looked at each other for a moment, trading a knowing look. “Okay. You two go play. Your dad and I need to have a talk. We’ll discuss letting you have a sleepover with hir.” Sevita nodded to Aruna, who frowned but knew better than to push her luck. They watched as the two children turned and left the room, heading back upstairs.
The parents waited a moment to make sure that the kids were out of earshot before speaking. Atman was the first to open his mouth. “Only ten… I thought shi was older. Do you think that’s a little young for him?”
“Normally I would say yes, but, it’s only three years, and how many other tigers their age have you seen?” Sevita asked, knowing that there was an even larger age gap between her and her husband than that between Alex and Ravi.
“Fair. I suppose it doesn’t matter that much,” Atman said, holding up the remote and shutting off the T.V. “Shi has eyes for Ravi, that much is certain. But what about Aruna? They might be a better match, age-wise.”
The white tigress shook her head. “Not as desirable for our species in the long run, as it will spread the CIP genes too. But if things don’t work out with Ravi, I’m sure that shi will fall just as easily for Aruna. Anything is better than nothing, since the adrenal-response gene is autosomal recessive just like the CIP.” Sevita mused. “It’s even possible shi could fall for both of them. More cubs means more potential to save our species... especially if the father has the same gene mutation that we do and his coloration isn’t the result of albinism or something.”
“Yes, but if both of them start fooling around with Alex, they might start fooling around with each other,” Atman pointed out, stroking his chin in thought. “I mean, more children without the curse is good, but... I don’t want to risk dealing with another child with CIP.”
“That won’t happen. Ravi’s completely free of it, or I’d never have suggested marrying Ravi and Aruna before we found out about the Andreyevs. There’s just other potential complications from inbreeding. Even if they wind up as a polyfidelitous trio, they’ll just have a larger family, meaning more cubs without the curse- the adrenal-response gene.” Sevita stared across the room at her husband. “I think we should encourage a three-way friendship. Do you agree?”
The heavyset tiger sighed. “Okay. You’re right. It just seems strange to me... but so is the fact that shi’s a hermaphrodite. If all three of them wind up dating, that’s fine, but we will let them reach that decision on their own,” Atman said.
“That works. I will let Aruna know that she can have a sleepover.” Sevita smiled as she sat the embroidery ring to the side and got up to make her way upstairs to Aruna’s room.
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Friday, April 15th, 2016
Clear, soapy water gurgled as it spilled down the drain of the utility room. After a moment, Alex set down the red plastic bucket in the corner of the room, then squeezed the built-in wringer on the mop over the drain before standing it in the bucket. The young tigress stepped out of the utility room into the lounge, grabbed a duffle bag of gear and a handful of wooden poles off the table and headed for the stairs. “I’ll be upstairs, practicing,” shi called over hir shoulder at hir parents.
“Okay, Love,” David said, waving at his daughter as shi pushed open the lounge door and headed up the stairs to the main floor of the dojo. “Thanks for cleaning the mat!” he called.
Alex waved over hir shoulder; it hadn’t taken long to clean the dojo mat... unlike distributing flyers around town. That had taken an hour or so each night for most of the past week, riding shotgun in Mom’s SUV while they drove around, hopping out periodically to drop flyers at various stores, stapling them to billboards, etc.
After pelting up the stairs, Alex dropped the duffle bag at the edge of the dojo floor, where the polished wooden floor transitioned to beige vinyl gym mats. After straightening hir black gi and tightening the green belt around hir waist, shi quickly knelt and pulled the longest of the hickory staves from the looped duffle bag handles. The tiger cub stood, bowed at the edge of the vinyl mat, then stepped out onto it, walking out towards the middle of the enormous room, avoiding the damp spots where the freshly mopped mats hadn’t fully dried yet.
Taking a deep breath, the young tigress put one foot out into a fighting stance and swung the staff out in a fast strike before whipping it around hirself while twirling it like a buzz saw. An experienced martial artist would know that it wasn’t any formal kata, but Alex found swinging a staff around while keeping it twirling at high speeds was extremely satisfying.
The tip of the staff whistled as it cut through the air while Alex spun it around and around, switching hands as necessary. After a few moments shi grew bored and began moving around, eventually adding random jumps and kicks while trying to keep the length of wood moving as fast as shi could. Caught up in the martial dance, shi didn’t hear the shoji doors of the dojo slide open or the black panther walk in. He watched the tiger cub while removing his trench coat, folding it over one arm.
Alex jumped into the air, kicking hard while spinning hir hips and holding the staff above hir head, using its momentum to pull off a hurricane kick with two full rotations before touching the mat again. Shi ran a few feet and jumped one more time, jamming the rounded tip of the staff into the mat to launch hirself into the air, using it like a miniature pole vault. Shi turned the jump into a flying sidekick, hurtling a good fifteen feet across the dojo before hitting the floor again. Alex paused, breathing heavily, then turned as shi heard clapping from multiple people in the room.
Mom and Dad were standing at the edge of the mat near the stairs in their black karate gis. Dad was clapping while Mom was holding her head in exasperation. Near the front of the dojo, a black panther in a white dress shirt and brown trousers was clapping as well. Alex flushed with embarrassment at being caught showing off, hir ears burning as the panther bowed in hir direction. The young tigress clutched the staff and quickly returned the bow, then turned to bow towards the front of the dojo before jogging across the mat towards hir gear bag where Mom and Dad were standing.
Raenne smiled as she watched her daughter pick up hir gear bag and head back downstairs, followed a moment later by her husband. The older tigress turned and walked along the polished wooden flooring surrounding the mat, approaching the black panther who had walked in. As she reached a comfortable speaking range, he bowed to her.
Assuming he was at least somewhat familiar with dojo etiquette, she returned the bow, then introduced herself. “Hello. I’m Raenne Andreyev, the instructor, though here in the dojo, most people address me as Sensei Raenne, or Raenne-sensei,” she said, closing the distance between them and holding her paw out. Up close, she noticed the notch on his left ear was accompanied by a thin scar that ran from his ear down between his eyes and along his muzzle.
“Dafydd Owen,” the black panther introduced himself, giving her paw a firm shake while making a note of the four gold stripes on her belt. “I saw a flyer advertising Shotokan martial arts training when I was at the hardware store earlier this week. I must say, I was not expecting such an impressive training facility. From the outside, this could be a Buddhist Temple in Okinawa, complete with blooming cherry blossom trees.”
The tigress smiled. “It’s loosely based on Hōryū-ji temple, in the Nara prefecture of Japan. Most of the materials were sourced locally, but all of the courtyard stonework and much of the structural woodwork was done by Japanese artisans who flew out here earlier this winter. The general contractor was Sebastian Mendelssohn, a local architect from Prairie Flats.”
Dafydd walked towards the edge of the mat, looking at the timber beams supporting the second story and then at the open atrium above the main floor mats, glancing up at the irregular lattice that lined the second floor atrium. After a moment the black panther turned around inspecting the weaponry hanging on the first floor walls. “My apologies if I am mistaken, but I don’t recall Shotokan Karate having such an emphasis on weapon skills.”
“It doesn’t,” the tigress confirmed. “Learning weapon skills is my hobby. I can teach the use of all of the weapons on display here in private lessons, but it’s not part of the ISKF curriculum.”
“ISKF?” Dafydd asked, turning to look at the tigress and raising one eyebrow.
“The International Shotokan Karate Federation. It was originally affiliated with the Japanese Karate Association, but they broke ties in 2007 over political differences,” Raenne explained. “The Winter Creek Dojo is registered with the ISKF, and I’m a certified instructor.”
The black panther nodded. “Sensei Raenne, I should lay my cards on the table here. While my martial arts background could be described as extensive, I have not, at any time, studied the Shotokan style. I would be entering your class as a beginner in that style. I do, however, hold Dan rank in Wado-ryu and credentials in other arts. I would beg your indulgence if I slip into inappropriate muscle memory, because I assure you I would be here to study this style. May I ask if that would present a problem?”
The slight smile on the tigress’ muzzle spread into a broad grin. “While I only teach Shotokan karate and weapon skills, I also know a few other styles, including Aikido, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai, and Krav Maga... things I picked up while in the Army. It won’t be an issue except in official tournaments, and probably not even then. I’m sure your sparring partners will forgive you if you accidentally use the wrong move... as long as you show them what you did and how to counter it,” Raenne said with a wink.
The tigress continued, adding “I can fast-track individuals with other martial arts experience; The ISKF grants its instructors some degree of leniency with regards to lower belt ranks. The only catch is that, while I’m an official instructor, I won’t be qualified to perform belt examinations until after the Master Camp in Philadelphia in two months. So if you don’t mind wearing a white belt until then...”
The panther gave a big grin in return. “I don’t mind. I’ll get myself a new gi as well. Wouldn’t feel right to either cut the Wado-Ryu patch off the one I have or to wear it in here,” Dafydd said, pointing at the large painting of the Shotokan tiger emblem on the left wall of the dojo.
“Well then, Mr. Owen... Why don’t you come downstairs to the lounge so we can start the paperwork. I’ll show you where the locker room and bathrooms are and get you a new gi,” Raenne said, turning and walking towards the stairs on the right side of the dojo. “The uniforms are forty dollars and come with the white belt...” the tigress began explaining.
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Saturday, April 16th, 2016
“Thanks again, Dad!” Alex said, leaning over and giving him a kiss before pushing open the passenger door and climbing out, grabbing hir backpack off the floor in front of the seat.
“You’re welcome, Love. Have a good night. Call me when you want me to pick you up in the morning. Love you,” David replied after returning the kiss.
“Okay. Love you too, Dad,” the young tigress said before closing the door and turning towards the Bassi residence. Alex was practically bouncing as shi walked up the driveway and small walkway to the Bassi’s front door. Shi hefted the backpack over hir shoulder, then reached out and pushed the doorbell after brushing hir paws off on hir capris.
This past week had been swell; the Dojo was officially open, the twins had finally started to quiet down and actually sleep at night, and without the noise shi had slept soundly, able to start paying more attention in school. After the grand opening of the Dojo yesterday, shi’d gone straight to Azalea’s place for a sleepover along with Willow... and now shi was over at Ravi and Aruna’s for a second back-to-back sleepover.
Alex could hardly believe it when Ravi had texted hir on Friday night while at Azalea’s, saying that Aruna had invited hir to come over for a sleepover. Shi’d even even more surprised when Mom and Dad had agreed to a second sleepover in a row. As long as shi kept hir grades up, didn’t swear, and helped out at the dojo, hir weekends were hir own to do whatever shi pleased... within reason.
Shortly after the bell rang, the door opened. “Come in,” Atman said, stepping to the side and ushering Alex in. “Ravi and Aruna are in the backyard.”
“Okay. Thanks, Mr. Bassi,” Alex said, turning and waving back at hir dad. Shi stepped in and quickly undid the laces on hir shoes, then took them off and set them on the shoe rack. “Should I put my backpack in Ravi’s room or Aruna’s?” shi asked, unsure where shi was going to be sleeping tonight.
“That’s up to you,” Atman said with a little nod. “But I think you’ll have more space in Ravi’s room.”
Alex nodded. “Okay. I’ll be right back down then,” shi said, jogging up the stairs. Once shi reached the top, shi set hir backpack just inside Ravi’s room next to the door and headed back downstairs to grab hir shoes again and head outside.
Just past the stairs was a sliding door that led out to the backyard. Shi could hear music playing from outside, along with Aruna’s voice. The backyard had a large grass lawn with flower beds along the edges, a pair of picnic tables, and a grill. On the edge of the concrete patio, Ravi was doing sit ups while his sister kept count.
“So that’s how he gets those abs,” Alex muttered. The tigress pulled the glass door open, stepping outside. Shi walked over to them, unable to keep hir eyes off Ravi’s torso as he did sit-up after sit-up while Aruna held his feet and kept count.
“Just a few more,” Aruna encouraged, keeping count until he finally reached fifty sit-ups.
“Okay. I think that’s good for now,” Ravi said, flopping back against the yoga mat under him, panting lightly. “Oh. Hello Alex,” the tiger boy said, glancing over as shi walked over.
“Alex!” Aruna said, getting up to greet the other tigress. “I guess we lost track of the time.”
“No worries. I just got here,” Alex replied, glancing at Aruna with a smile. “I put my backpack up in Ravi’s room and came outside,” shi said, turning and eyeing Ravi as he lay there, panting. If the teenaged white tiger had more muscle, he’d look like a miniature version of hir dad; he was certainly cut enough. Shi hated to admit it, but he was hot.
Ravi swung his feet upwards and did a kip-up, exactly as Alex had taught him two weeks ago. “Well it looks like you remembered to dress appropriately for gymnastics,” he said, bending over to pick up the mat and roll it up. “Want to start now, or wait?”
“We’re already out here, so... Now, I guess?” Alex replied. “Oh, ummm, since you’re taking classes at the Dojo at night, if you show up early, we could teach each other a few things before class starts. I’ll be there anyway, so if you came early...” the tigress said, hir voice trailing off, hoping he’d say yes. It was going to be awfully boring at the dojo from six to seven, with nobody having signed up yet for classes during that time.
“I’m sure I could do that. I’ll just start my run a little early,” Ravi agreed. “And landing on the mats would hurt a little less than practicing in the backyard here.” The tiger paused, a shy smile forming on his muzzle. “You know... if you get good at doing flips, maybe I could talk you into trying out for cheerleading?” he asked, hopefully.
“I never considered cheerleading...” Alex said, frowning. “But I’ll think about it,” shi agreed.
Ravi nodded, then walked out onto the grass, swinging his arms and stretching. Alex followed suit while Aruna walked over to the picnic tables to sit and watch.
__________________________________________________
“You did really well for your second time trying flips like that,” Ravi said as he made his way up the stairs to the second floor.
“Yeah, you looked really cool out there,” Aruna agreed, following Ravi up the stairs. “I just wish I could do that too,” she muttered with a huff of frustration, her tail twitching in irritation.
“Thanks,” Alex said massaging hir wrists as shi started up the stairs. After the first step, shi glanced upwards, just as Aruna’s tail flipped to one side, exposing the bright pink panties she was wearing underneath her skirt. Not paying any attention to where shi was putting hir feet, Alex completely missed the third step, tripping and hitting the stairs with several loud thumps as shi slid all the way back down.
“Alex!” Ravi said, turning back to look down the stairs. Aruna stopped as well, stepping out of the way as her brother jogged back down to check on Alex.
“Are you okay?” Ravi asked as he knelt next to hir, stopping himself from almost instinctively checking hir for injuries.
“What happened?” Another female voice asked. Sevita came rushing in from the sitting room down the hallway. “Oh, Alex! Are you okay?” the Bassi mother asked, kneeling down to offer a helping paw.
“I’m okay, I think,” Alex said, rolling over before sitting up and massaging hir shins and knees. “I missed a step, is all. Just like last time, only I didn’t catch myself this time.”
“Okay...” Sevita said, shaking her head a little. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
“I’m going to have to send you up the steps first,” Ravi muttered. “At least then I can try and catch you.”
“I thought cats always land on their paws... Except you clearly don’t,” Aruna joked as well, giggling for a moment before apologizing. “Sorry Alex. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, honest,” Alex said, standing up again. “By the Lady, I feel like such a clutz. I can do flips and kip-ups and cartwheels, but I can’t make it up a single flight of stairs,” shi complained with a huff.
“If you’re sure,” Sevita said, softly. “If you need something for pain later, just let one of us know. We’ve got Aspirin and even Tramadol if you can’t take that.” After Alex nodded, she turned to head back to the sitting room.
“Don’t worry Alex. I used to be a bit of a clutz too,” Aruna said, smiling. “I still kinda am.”
“I still think that we need to keep your tail taped to your leg,” Ravi said to his sister with a laugh. “Alex, do you want some help up the steps?”
“I’m fine. I’ll just make sure I hold the railing from now on,” Alex said, doing exactly that.
“Yay!” Aruna cheered, turning and rushed up the steps, her skirt fluttering a bit as she did. “Come on, slow pokes,” she said, pausing at the top of the stairs.
Alex followed Ravi up the stairs. “So... What do we want to do before dinner?” shi asked as they reached the top.
“Well, I’m going to take a shower. Unless you want one first?” Ravi asked, glancing at Alex. “If not, I’m sure you and Aruna can get up to something.” As they reached his room, he went inside to pick out some fresh clothes.
“No thanks. I usually take morning showers,” Alex said, standing out in the hallway.
“Okay,” Ravi said, walking into the bathroom and closing the door with a click.
“I guess we’ll just, umm, do stuff... while we wait,” Alex said, awkwardly. Shi sighed and turned back to Aruna.
“Don’t worry, I have lots of fun stuff to do,” Aruna said, smiling and motioning for the tigress to follow her into her room. “Ravioli just really likes his shower after working out,” she said, walking around her room to the dresser next to the giant teddy bear.
Alex followed, stepping in after Aruna. The young white tigress’ room was far more feminine than Ravi’s, with lots of pinks and pastel colors. She had a full-sized bed; not quite as big as her brother’s, but still comfortably big enough for the young tigress and her pile of plushies. Sitting in one corner was a large, life-sized teddy bear that looked over the room like he was protecting it. Her entertainment system had a smaller tv sitting on it along with a Wii-U and some games, as well as her collection of movie and cartoon DVDs. Most of the floor was covered in soft shag throw rugs in a variety of colors, and she had a pair of bean bag chairs just like Ravi did.
“We can watch cartoons or something while we wait. You can sit on one of the bean bags, or the bed if you want,” the young white tigress said as Alex looked around the room and took a seat on her bed. Aruna went over to her dresser and pulled out a set of pajamas, spending a few moments looking around for her pants. “Hah! Found them. Alex, do you have any PJs?” she asked, practically bouncing over to the bed and flopping down next to the older tigress. “I have some that you could wear, if you don’t.”
“Umm, yeah. I brought some,” Alex replied, a bit nervously.
“Ooooh, what did you bring? Are they cute?” Aruna asked, sitting up beside Alex. “You can change in here if you want, or Ravi’s room since he’s in the bathroom.”
“I, ummm... They’re pink and white ‘Hello Kitty’ pajamas that I got last year,” Alex replied, seeing Aruna’s eyes light up. “I haven’t worn them in a while; they’re probably a bit tight on me now. I can go get them if you want...”
__________________________________________________
“Hey! You two in there?” Ravi’s voice rang out, followed by a knock at Aruna’s closed door. “Is she boring you to death by showing you all of her clothes and stuff?”
Alex rolled off Aruna’s bed to open the door to open it for Ravi, walking past the various clothes scattered around the room from when they’d changed into their pajamas.
“We were, ummm, doing girl things,” Aruna called, slipping off the bed as well. “You missed out on all the fun ‘cause you had to go take a shower and stuff.”
“We were just getting dressed for bed,” Alex said after unlocking and opening the door, turning back around and picking up hir capris, folding them and putting them into hir backpack.
“Well, then I will just get on my PJs then,” Ravi said, standing in the hallway in a pair of sweatpants. His fur was still damp, and he had a towel over one shoulder. “So... what would you like to do? You two want to come to my room and play games before dinner?”
Aruna grinned. “Careful Alex. You might get distracted.”
Alex stood back up, turning and looking over at Aruna. “Huh?”
The younger tigress giggled. “Well, you know, since Ravioli’s not wearing a shirt...”
“Aruna!” Alex protested, blushing again. Shi couldn’t help but turn to Ravi though, hir mouth hanging loose at the sight of the shirtless boy, once again feeling the strange butterflies in hir tummy.
“Sorry, I didn’t think about that,” Ravi apologized, turning and walking into his room. “I can put something on.”
“No, please don’t...” Alex said followed by an expression of shock that ran across hir face. Hir mouth dropped open in horror as shi realized shi had slipped up again. Shi clapped a paw over hir muzzle, blushing crimson under hir fur. “I mean... you don’t have to put a shirt on if you don’t want to.”
“Alex and Ravi K-I-S-S-I-N-G,” Aruna sang as she walked past Alex into her brother’s room. “Come on, Alex. Maybe you can get him to sing for you or something,” she giggled as she hopped onto her brother’s bed.
“Aruna, I will lock you in your room if you don’t behave,” Ravi threatened, sitting down on one of the bean bag chairs.
Alex could barely breathe shi was so embarrassed. Shi hadn’t even meant to say that comment about not putting on a shirt, it had just… slipped out. Chewing on hir lower lip, the tigress took hir tail and held it up to hir chest, standing in the hallway with hir ears flat against hir head; shi was so embarrassed shi wanted to cry.
“Alex? You don’t want to join us?” Ravi asked, getting up and walking back to the door. “Is something the matter? If Aruna’s teasing you too much, I can get her to stop.”
“Please?” Alex said in a near whisper, sniffling. “I- I just... I’m sorry.”
Alex had never felt quite this way in hir whole life; the strange feelings, the tightness in hir chest, the fluttering in hir stomach. It was actually starting to make hir feel a little sick. And it wasn’t just ‘cause Ravi was attractive... Aruna was cute too. Just being around them made hir flustered, and Aruna’s teasing wasn’t helping at all.
“Aruna, you heard Alex. Please stop teasing her so much,” Ravi said as he walked over to his dresser, pulling out a shirt and pulling it on. “Alex, do you need some time alone or anything?” he asked, walking back to the door. “We can give you a little privacy.”
“I’m sorry, Alex,” Aruna apologized, ears folded down. “I will stop teasing,” she said softly.
“Th-thanks,” Alex stuttered, following Ravi back into his room, still holding hir tail, the black tip twitching against hir chin. After standing in the middle of the room for a moment, shi walked over and flopped down in one of the bean bag chairs. Shi took a deep breath, trying to get hir emotions back under control.
“So, want to play some games or something?” Ravi asked as he sat on the other bean bag, “or just sit around and chat?”
“Do you have any games you both like?” Alex asked, glancing over at Aruna and back to Ravi. “We could take turns, maybe, until dinner…”
“I have some board games,” Aruna suggested. “I have Monopoly... and lots of others. We could do that,” the younger tigress suggested.
“I like Monopoly,” Alex said, feeling a little better. “Mom and Dad and I play that sometimes.”
“That would be fun,” Ravi agreed, smiling. “I also have ‘Mortal Kombat VS DC Universe’, though I think that a game of Monopoly would be a little more relaxing,” he said, watching his sister hop off the bed and running over to her room to get the board game out.
“Do you happen to have Street Fighter?” Alex asked. “I kinda like that one too.”
“Of course,” Ravi said, almost affronted.
“We can play it later, then,” Alex said, smiling. “Maybe after dinner. If Aruna wants to play too, that is.”
“Ummm, I hate to pry or anything, but are you sure that you’re okay?” Ravi asked quietly.
“I... I...” Alex started, getting a little choked up. Shi sniffled. “No. I mean... Yes. I dunno. You and Aruna make me feel... strange.”
“What do you mean?” Ravi asked, tilting his head a little. “Did one of us do something to offend you? I’m sorry if we did. Aruna doesn’t mean to tease you and be mean about it. She’s always been playful...”
“It’s not that. Well, it is, a little, but, I mean... You’re really handsome, and Aruna’s really pretty, and you’re both nice and polite. Aruna’s teasing doesn’t bother me that much, except that...” Alex said, pausing to take a deep breath, hiding hir face behind hir tail to hide hir blush. “It’s true. I want to kiss you. Both of you.”
“I...” Ravi started, blushing as well when he realized what Alex had admitted. “Umm, well, if it helps, I think that you’re really pretty too. And I mean... I kinda have a crush on you too,” he said quietly, rubbing the back of his head.
Alex’s ears perked up and shi lowered hir tail just enough to see him over it. “Is that why you were so, uhh, ‘gentlemanly’ at the arcade when we first met, and later at the Dojo?”
“Y- yes,” Ravi admitted. “I mean... When I saw you at the arcade, I thought that you were pretty... I mean, I still do,” he corrected. “But I really wanted to make friends with you. And after we met again in the dojo and I decided I wanted to ask you out, I definitely wanted to make a good impression on your parents...”
“Well, you did, I think, but... it was kinda weird too,” Alex said, lowering hir tail. “It almost creeped me out. You didn’t need to be super-polite or anything. You’re nice; just be yourself.”
“I’m sorry,” Ravi apologized, smiling a little as he slouched back in his bean bag. “I didn’t know what to do, to be honest. I mean, I’ve never really talked to a girl like you, and that kind of thing always works in the movies, so I thought it would work.” He laughed. “Sorry I’m such a dork.”
Alex giggled, feeling better and much more relieved. Shi dropped hir tail back down to the floor, watching it lazily curl about. When Aruna walked back in with the Monopoly set, Alex looked back up at the two white tiger cubs, smiling happily.
