While things were going on, Animalians were continuing heir training for the games, although some had to reconsider what event they were participating. Some of the cheetahs, because marathons required long periods of running, had changed their event from marathon to sprinting. A new event, called "Survival", featured an elaborate version of hide-and-seek in various terrains, with predators as "seekers" and prey as "hiders", both as entertainment for the humans and a reminder of what most Animalians once were.
There was also some new information, for both the humans and Animalians, on what would be going on in the games.
---
Samson walked into the training room when Anton placed a hand on his shoulder from behind.
"Follow me." He said. But Samson was surprised when he was led into a room with each wall, and even the ceiling, seemingly made of a single pane of mirrored glass.
"What are we doing in here?" Asked Samson.
"We're going to work on your poses." Replied Anton.
"What poses?" Asked Samson.
"Oh, right. You wouldn't know." Said Anton, suddenly remembering, " A bodybuilding competition is not just about who has the biggest muscles."
"It's not?" Asked Samson, somewhat surprised.
"No, it's about how you display them on the stage," said Anton, entering teaching mode, "Though I am rather pleased that you managed to develop 8-pack abs that most humans are unable to get without cheating."
"Cheating?" Asked Samson.
"Using anabolic steroids," continued Anton, "which tends to take one from 'balanced and sexy' to 'grossly disproportionate'.
"Okay," said Samson, trying not to imagine it, "what will we start with?"
Anton clapped his hands. "Alright! Let's do this!" He strutted forward as he took Samson by the arm and moved him closer to the mirrors. "The first one is very simple, plus it looks great when done right. You'll look like a god among men. Er, Animalians."
"All right, what do i start with first?" Asked Samson. Anton chuckled as he patted Samson on the back and pinched Samson's shirt on the collar a bit.
"I think you should practice stripping off your shirt. A slow reveal gets fans revved up to see what's under that tight shirt and leaves them wanting more afterwards." Samson immediately moved his hands up and gripped the collar of his shirt and began pulling on it when Anton grasped his hand and stopped him.
"Whoa there, Samson!" Said Anton, laughing slightly, "Take it easy, slow down some! If you go too fast the fans won't be as rapt in attention as they could be and you'll gain less attention later on. Try crossing your arms as you grip the shirt from the corners of the front of your shirt."
A little confused, but guessing that Anton knew what he was talking about, Samson brought his arms down and crossed them, his fingers gripping the corners of each side of the shirt. The the he held it felt strange to him, but he wasn't one to doubt somebody much more experience at this than he was.
"Alright perfect." Said Anton, "Now slowly.. ease the shirt up. it helps build suspense for the fans. They will absolutely eat it up and will clamor for more from you." As Anton instructed, Samson began sliding the shirt up, making sure to go slowly as he revealed his torso a couple inches at a time, untilt he shirt was almost entirely off his body.
"You're doing a great job so far." Said Anton, approvingly, "Now as you're bringing it off your head, flex those biceps a bit. Give them audiance a taste of what you can bring and they'll come back for more everytime."
Samson had to close his eyes for a moment as the shirt came up over his head. Whiel the fabric was starting to slip over his ears he began flexing his biceps, pushing them out to their absolute peak, the massive slabs of muscle exploding in their incredibly definition as the shirt finally slide off his head and he dropped he arms. "How was that?" He asked.
Anton clapped loudly as he lifted up Samson's arm and gavehis right bicep a nice firm squeeze. "Very nice! Those are some incredible biceps you have. I only have one suggestion. When you're pulling off your shirt, don't fully flex your biceps." This caused a confused stare to appear on Samson's face as he shook his head.
"Why is that?" He asked
"If you show off everything your muscles have to offer, then it won't be as exciting to the fans when the competition really starts." Said Anton, "This game is all about showmanship. You gotta hold back a bit until the end. At the end game you give it all you got and really put on a show that the fans will remember. If you do that I have no doubts you'll win."
Samson felt really flattered and inspired. He felt like he really had a chance to win this competition. "Thanks, Anton. You've been a great help. One question though...does the size of your muscles really matter?"
"Of course!" said Anton, "But that's not what it's all about. Lots of bodybuilders forget that posing is just as important as working out."
"Even against creatures like the elephants?" Asked Samson.
"Oh don't worry about them." Said Anton, "The competition is going to be divided by body weight."
"Really?" Asked Samson, "Why?"
"It's not very fair to pit bodybuilders of different weight classes against each other." Said Anton, going into teaching mode again, "so the competition is going to be divided into several weight classes: lightweight, middleweight, heavyweight, super heavyweight, and ultra heavyweight."
"So what class am I going to be in?" Asked Samson.
"You're going to be in the heavyweight category, with the other horses." Said Anton, reassuringly. "So when we are not working on weights, we'll work on posing."
---
A pair of webbed hands slammed down on the edge of the pool, stopping the timer. Soon after, it was revealed that the hands were attached to a beautiful dolphin Animalian.
"Well done, Stephanie." Said a swimming coach from Lyre High School, "You're really improving."
"Yeah, I suppose..." Said Stephanie, somewhat absentmindedly.
"What's wrong?" Asked the coach, "You still getting used to the arms and legs?"
"There's that," said Stephanie, "But there was something that happened at swimming class last Thursday."
"What happened?" Asked the coach, hoping it wasn't bullying.
"Three male seniors tried to vy for my attention." Said Stephanie, wincing slightly at the memory.
"What did they do?" Asked the coach, somewhat surprised.
"They dressed themselves in swimming briefs that walked a fine line between 'sexy-tight' and 'uncomfortably tight'." Said Stephanie, seeming to smile at the corners of her beak.
"So what did they do?" Asked the coach, thinking that it would lead to pain.
"During a bout of waterborne skylarking, their shorts ended up ripping off entirely!" Said Stephanie, starting to giggle in dolphin fashion.
"That's not funny." Said the coach, disapprovingly, but starting to smile as well.
"No," said Stephanie, rushing to say it before she broke out in giggles, "what was funny was the teasing that followed those three's 'walk of shame' back to the locker room!" She managed before breaking out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter.
"I'll talk to the head of the athletics department to make sure this kind of thing doesn't happen again." Chortled the coach, wishing that she could have seen it.
---
Meanwhile, a female Zebra Animalian named Zhali was just getting done with her run while a male Zebra named Enzi was keeping track of time.
"Nice job," he said, "You managed to shave seven seconds off your time."
"Hopefully this training session will end with a rich, meaty, reward." Said Zhali, coquettishly.
"'Meaty'." Asked Enzi, a little surprised, "But we're both- oh." He said, remembering back at the high school when they were both trying out for the track team. Zhali accidentally let her "girls" pop free during a run, and didn't know about it until after her run was finished. Enzi, meanwhile, had gotten "hot and bothered" during his run. When he got finished, he was sporting such a severe case of "trouser tent", as the humans called it, that several males were left with, er, "manhood envy". Zhali had immediately staked her claim on him, partly because she wanted him for herself, partly because several girls were eying him with hungry eyes, and partly because they had been double dosed during the zoo outbreak.
"Don't worry," said Zhali, embracing Enzi and breaking his train of thought, "I'll wait until we get back to our apartment. Until then, feel free to let the heat build. I don't mind... At all." She whispered these last two syllables in his ear, causing his internal heat to spike.