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Tussle by Hauke

Tussle

I love the old gyms, the ones left over from the previous era. They're very rare, scattered about in what's left of the old concrete islands. You have to go to them to find decent steam rooms and saunas, and they still have water showers, not those silly dust baths or professional grooming stations. I suppose if I had fur, I'd enjoy that new stuff quite a bit more; to someone cold-blooded with scales, the old ways are the best.

I let the hot water in "Frank's Gym" run across the top of my head and down my back, warming me. Getting warmed up is important before a workout, all the more so when you're exothermic. I leaned against the shower wall, clicking my long nails on the tile and keeping aware of the footsteps of those behind me to avoid having my tail stepped on. Since most of my fellow gym-goers showered after their workouts (if they showered at all), they had very slow, heavy steps; most of their energy was spent.

In this gym, the showers did not have stalls. Everything was opened up, steam rising uniformly everywhere in this large tiled room, with a single door leading to the lockers. It took a while to warm up in the colder parts of the year, so I'd stay in the same spot long enough to observe several shifts of the shaggy, furry males lathering up, still catching their breath after their exertions. I enjoyed watching them, they're so different. Fur and prominent ears, some muzzles with whiskers and some without. Large, prominent sheaths, pendulous testicles; I have nothing like that. That is, nothing that shows unless it's ready to be used.

As I recognized some of them, they probably recognized me by sight or scent. I'd been coming here for a few months. I was no doubt "the lizard". I had gotten to know a few of them very well in the steam room a few weeks ago, which is how I convinced them that I wasn't a female accidentally wandering into the males' changing area. But that's another story.

Feeling much more active after letting the hot water do its work, I went out to the lockers, and dressed myself in my change of clothes. When I had arrived, I walked past several familiar scents; I expected them to be out on the first floor, but the large rooms housing weights and corridors leading off to the hot tub, pool, and steam room were surprisingly empty of fellows I recognized. My tongue waggles when I'm following scents, and I'll admit it; it looks very silly and I don't like doing it in public. But there was nobody important here to see, and I wanted to know what they were all up to. I caught most of their trails: the fuzzy boys were upstairs.

I sauntered up myself, and was just in time to round the corner at the top of the stairs to see one of the regulars, a stag whose name I still didn't know, pacing back and forth near the water trough and salt lick. He was limping, grimacing with each step, and casting angry looks toward double doors at the opposite end of the room.

That room was also known as "the arena". It was usually locked, but when enough of the fuzzies got antsy, as they will in the spring, a few good-natured fights help relieve the tension. I went to the arena, pushing the swinging door wide open so I'd have enough time to drag my tail in after me.

There was a bear whose name I knew, executing a sloppy submission hold on an unfamiliar hog. They were wrestling on a recently unrolled mat in the center of the dimly lit room. It was a little chilly in here; I estimated I'd have about 15 minutes before I'd get too cold, and start going into torpor.

The bear, Cody, was simply hugging the boar so tightly that the poor hog couldn't catch his breath. I didn't recognize the boar's face, but he smelled familiar. He let out one last whiny grunt before his eyes rolled back into his head, and his struggles ceased. Cody dropped him to the mat.

"So! Anyone else?" Cody pounded his chest. He was a fine specimen, much stronger than the average bear. "My first match, and it only lasted a minute. I'm not tired at all yet!"

I caught sight of another stag, looking the worse for wear; possibly the opponent of the first one I had passed. Just as I thought; it was an informal little session of jockeying for status. The room reeked of male pheremones. I was certain all I had missed were tests of strength, not of skill. Maybe it was time to introduce myself.

"I'll play with you," I said and stepped up. My knee creaked and popped on the way, which elicited a look of astonishment from a certain panda I knew well. He prodded a friend of his, a small wolf, and started whispering. Maybe I'd have a cheering section.

I tossed the shirt I had been wearing in front of me, and it fell perfectly flat at the edge of the mat. I could read the familiar saying as I passed it: "Youth and Strength are no match for Age and Treachery." Dragging my tail behind me, I tightened the drawstring on my pants.

The bear wasn't expecting someone like me. He looked down at the top of my head; I refrained from tipping my head up meet his gaze; it wasn't necessary yet. "Are you a monitor lizard?"

"No, I'm a tegu. And you're a brown bear...though I suppose you're sometimes mistaken for a grizzly bear. Cody, right?"

I wondered if he wished he were a grizzly, or if he had told some of them that he was. Almost everyone there was a regular; I knew few of their names, but I knew their scents and appearances from waiting my turn to use equipment or watching them spotting each other for heavy dead lifts. I'm sure he recognized as many of the muzzles and snouts here as I did. They muttered and discussed my chances.

"Yeah," he answered me. He grinned condescendingly. "I don't want to hurt you too much, gramps. Tell me, have you written your will?"

"No, I haven't. Call me Walther."

The grin turned into a sneer. "You can call me 'Daddy' after this. I'll break your back if I'm not careful, so be sure to cry loud enough for me to hear while I'm squeezing the life out of you." He walked forward, arms raised.

While he probably didn't realize that I didn't have to breathe as often as he, the hog, or many of the other mammalian spectators did, and that he'd have to crush me for a long, long time. However, I didn't relish the idea of being swept up into his arms. He was strong enough so that I doubted I could break free without seriously hurting him.

I smiled slightly, imagining other settings where I in fact might not mind a tight, lasting hug from a massive guy like him. "I'll show you who your daddy is, Cody," I whispered to myself as my tongue involuntarily flicked out at him. He was very close now. "I'll be gentle."

I stepped aside slowly; too slowly, so that he turned to follow me, reaching for my shoulder. I let his claws click against the scales there, tantalizingly close to an old scar where a much faster lion had once snagged me. I didn't even glance toward him as his grasping claws closed on nothing.

"Running away?" He snorted and lunged at me again. All of his bodybuilding efforts had been poured into making himself stronger; he wanted to appear big. None of his work was in order to make himself flexible or able to change direction quickly. He was a wonderful example of a muscular, strong bear, but great strength isn't a prerequisite for being a great fighter.

This time I moved quickly; I didn't dodge to the side or retreat, I moved toward him, under his lumbering, grasping arms. I felt his paws slide down my back, missing their target; he had meant to grab my shoulders, presumably to pick me up and shake me in a wasteful attempt at humiliation. It would cost him.

I held one of his arms to my shoulder and shoved against him with my other shoulder, putting all of the force of my tail into it. He was surprised; my legs look weak, and in fact, they were very weak compared to his. But my tail's thicker around than even his legs.

Of course, not knowing better, he pushed back to overcompensate. He had no sense of balance at all. So as he leaned forward to put more force into the resisting push, I caved in to the side. I pulled his arm, locked against my shoulder at the elbow, across his front. I moved most of my body out of the way but my tail, which with a quick jerk up, entangled itself across one ankle and behind his other leg's knee. With one last light tug on his arm, it overbalanced him. Tani otoshi, the valley drop throw: it's served me well. Technically, one is supposed to use a leg for the last little trip and lift, not a tail. But you work with what you've got.

He landed on his back, which conveniently untangled my tail from his legs. I landed mostly on him. He wouldn't be getting up for a minute, judging from the sound of him hitting the mat. I patted the front of his shorts, coaxing a groan and an incoherent mumble from the big bear.

"Poor daddy. You rest for a while. Come and see me in the steam room later if you feel up to it." I rolled forward and stood up; it was probably time to go before I got too chilly and slow. I collected my things and headed for the door.

The surrounding fellows watched me go, really seeing me for the first time. "Tell Cody I enjoyed myself," I said. "He can be much stronger; maybe I'll take him on as a student."

Tussle

Hauke

Cover art is by WinglessEddie. You can check out the original here at FA: https://www.furaffinity.net/view/31909977/

Walther is an old tegu who has met some pretty good fighters; he's always on the lookout for youngsters with potential.

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