Welcome back, my lovely reader!
It's a new season, my lovely! Are you ready for the drama and action to come for our lovely twins? I know I am! This will be Kai's first full season together on the slopes with his sister too!
They've both made some friends over the offseason and even helped some of them strengthen themselves. Friends are an important part of life, but what if it's not just friendship? What if an event triggers you to see things from a new perspective? Maybe, you realize you might want more than just friendship.
Let's jump right in!
—♥—
Episode 6:
Are We More Than Friends?
The snow glittered in the setting rays of the sun as Kai ground his board to a halt, finishing the last of his run before lifting his goggles back up. "How was that?"
Hiroshi and Jarome were already at the bottom of the halfpipe, having finished their own runs. Kayla was there with a few members of the staff from the training facility.
One of the board designers, an older male otter with gray showing in his fur and hair, wiped the snow off his glasses with his shirt before sliding them back on. "I think I do good work, this is probably the best board we've ever produced."
Kayla gave the otter a hiss and bumped her hip against his, making the slightly smaller male stumble to the side before he composed himself and continued, "O-Oh! Uh... Yeah, I think Hiroshi did the best run between the three of you."
"I concur, his adaptation to the X3 is a testament to his latent skill," The other engineer spoke out casually as she brushed snow out of the black fur of her tail. She was an older vixen, the wife of the otter, also showing spots of gray along her fur and muzzle. The couple were the head designers of all the boards Altima produced.
"Damn it!" Kai and Jarome both called out at the same time.
Kayla gave a shrug as she spoke, "I have to agree, you gotta step it up big brother, Hiroshi's tearing it up now that he's gotten used to the board."
"Damn man! Still, I'm really happy you've gotten it broken in before competition time!" Jarome showed the buck a challenging grin.
"I'm not one to roost on excuses, but I do not think I could have risen to this challenge without all of your support. I'd have just been forced to keep using a Glacier or withdrawn from the competition as I'd originally planned to do." Hiroshi offered the small group a polite bow.
"Wait- You were planning to drop out of the league, Hiroshi?" Kayla tilted her head at that.
He nodded as he continued, "I was. I am still a buck with pride. To simply belly up and use their equipment after their dismissal would have been too much I fear."
"Damn... Still, didn't you start with their gear even before you made it?" Kai tilted his own head in an eerily similar way that Kayla did.
"It's a matter of principle I'd wager," The older otter of the group chimed in before waving his paw. "Regardless, you're here now and you appear to be competition worthy."
"For you boys, it's a win-win for us, since all of you are so good, and either way our new board gets its time in the limelight, however..." The vixen turned to the leopardess as she continued, "Kayla, you're the only female rider that's been cleared to use the X3 in the coming competitions, so from one former competitor to another, I do hope you'll do your utmost to represent our board to its full potential to showcase I and my husband's hard work."
Kayla gave a laugh at that and put both her gloved paws on her hips. "So long as Kai is around, I'll always give it one hundred and fifty, don't you worry about that!"
—♥—
"Did you enjoy your summer vacation, Jaron?" The brown-furred mouse called out conversationally as the camera finished its shot from the drone traveling up the half-pipe.
"Well, I spent it with my family, so it wasn't exactly summertime in their part of the world, but it was lovely, yes." The greyhound responded back to his co-host.
"Oh, that's great to hear! I spent mine practicing my moves." Jasmine thrust a thumb into her chest with a grin.
"Oh ho! You coming out of retirement, Jas?" Jaron barked out with his own grin showing.
The mouse gave a snort and shook her head. "Oh hell no, you think I could keep up with these girls? I'll come out of retirement when they start up a gray-muzzle league!"
"Oh come on, Jas, you're only what? Like thirty s-"
"I know you didn't just tell a ladies age on the air, now did you, Jaron?" Jasmine cut him off with a slight glare at the greyhound.
"Eh? N-No way, Jas, of course not! Oh hey- Speaking of the ladies, let's talk about the qualifying rounds and where all our lovely competitors ended up in the starting round!"
The mouse quirked a brow and smirked at his deflection before turning to the camera. "Are you at all surprised to see Madeline Lashinger sitting at the top spot after qualifying?"
"Is anyone? But, it looks like last season's dark horse, or dark cat as it were, is showing she's here to win this season, Kayla Hanna is right there on the Snow Bunny's heels, only being a half a point off, with Gina Rodriguez just barely eeking past her at point three behind Madeline."
Jasmine nodded at her co-host as she followed in with the men's results, "Her brother is sitting at the top spot on the boy's side of things, actually. But let's remember none of the riders put it all out during the qualifiers, so we'll have to see how the point totals look once the snow settles!"
Jaron perked his ears as he raised a padded-finger. "Let's talk about the boys for a second, specifically, let's talk about Hiroshi Yukizama, he's currently sitting fourth after qualifiers, but do you think that could be because of the gear he's currently sporting?"
