"I'm still not sure I'll ever be used to this," Beth commented as carefully sipped from the teacup offered to her.
"In a way it's good for you and specially blended so that it's safe for dogs, which are semi-omnivorous and lean carnivorous, and for cats which are strictly carnivorous," Elisa said with a smile and a purr, "Especially for all the training you've been doing for the games coming this summer."
Beth slowly nodded and shrugged. The games, mostly modeled on the Olympics which had recently had their Summer games the previous summer when the Animalian Outbreak erupted, had attracted a good many Animalians in many different events. Many of them were based off of Olympic events to let Animalians compete in much the same way the Olympians did. Many did compete in events that were instinctive to the Animalian's respective species. Swimming and diving events for some of the uplifted dolphins, otters, and sea lions, among those that decided to remain in Animalia or Lyre and not move to Mieni for the moment. Running events were largely split. A large number of Animalians were in running events, ranging from cheetahs to dogs to horses to deer. However, most of the feline competitors were in the sprints and a couple of uplifted Leopards were in the hurdles while most of the dogs and horses were in more of the distance races. Many of the uplifted cattle and sheep were in the boxing tournament while most of the lions, tigers, leopards, wolves, dogs, and bears were in the wrestling tournament, which Eliza had found to be Grecco-Roman wrestling, not professional wrestling.
The competition for the mixed-martial arts, which Beth was competing in with one of the female's brackets also had its fare share of competitors. And Beth actually pushed herself fairly hard for a couple of reasons. One was to satisfy her own competitive streak and the other was to impress Eliza. The two had bonded rather well, despite their age differences, though not that anyone really noticed given that they were both double dosed Animalians and thus appeared to be the same age. And Eliza did admire Beth's determination to do well and to compete, in many ways resembling many of the pro-wrestlers she'd watched on television, though, at times she did worry that Beth pushed herself a bit TOO hard. And that had been partially why Eliza had pushed for the idea for spending Spring Break at Mieni.
"This is a way to relax, just like on Mieni," Eliza commented...
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"I'm not entirely sure why we're here!" Beth commented with a bit of irritation in her voice.
She'd been fairly calm on the flight out, and in a way DID know why they'd come. Eliza wanted her to have some time to relax from all the training that she'd been doing. She ultimately went along with it, but that didn't necessarily mean that she entirely went along with it. So, for the moment they were walking along one of the small nature trails on the island of Mieni.
"To relax... to not stress over things... to even look at some the new things that the scientists on TV have said they've found on these islands," Eliza answered.
"I don't want to fall out of shape," Beth answered.
"Oh... you won't, trust me," Eliza answered, "I'm sure there is plenty we can do stay in shape and have plenty of fun. I might even wear something special to get your interest."
Beth's ears perked at that mention as they continued to walk along that path. She soon began to wag her tail as that did ease some of her concerns with that, as she'd found Eliza to be very attractive and the fact that they had found so many surprises about each other was enough to make her quite willing to find all the things that they had in common and the things they didn't have in common. She also had to privately admit that while she wasn't necessarily the most interested in hike, her instincts were curious enough about things to want to look around and investigate the new smells she could pick up.
+++++++++++++++++++
"No," Eliza said firmly from the beach.
"Come on," Beth urged, "You're the one who urged us come here for some fun and relaxation."
"Fun and relaxation that does involve getting soaked," Eliza answered crossing her arms.
The two were dressed in their swimsuits and Beth was trying to urge Eliza to come out and swim in the ocean. As much as she'd wanted to keep herself in shape and ready for the coming competition, Beth had to admit that the trip had been rather fun. The initial idea for this day was simply walk on the beach, which delighted Beth to see Eliza in her swimsuit, but soon brought the idea to Beth to actually play in the surf, which did feel good, particularly as the sunny days at Mieni were quite warm on her glossy black fur. Even the tan points her fur held a fair amount of heat and playing in the water was enough to help cool off.
"Come on, it's fun and it's cool!" Beth said with a smile and a splash, "I'm sure you know how to swim."
"It's not a question of knowing how to swim," Eliza answered, "It's getting my fur to lay right after being soaked. It's takes forever for me to dry off after a shower."
"Come on, you don't see me complaining," Beth teased.
"Your fur is shorter than mine," Eliza answered, "I'm fine with the beach... but I'm not getting wet."
Beth gave something of a smirk and began to advance out of the water toward Eliza. Eliza noticed and backed away.
"And don't you think about shaking water on me!" Eliza then gave a cry and dashed up the beach with Beth in hot pursuit and with water droplets falling off of her as she ran. The two were soon laughing in the course of their impromptu game of tag.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"In addition to some of the other fun we had there," Eliza spoke as she sat down across from Beth.
Beth gave a small smile, "I'm not sure that they were relaxing... but fun."
"That they were," Eliza nodded, "and with you... that is what made me happy. You don't have to win the tournament to win my love."
Beth looked up from her cup, but didn't say anything for the moment as Eliza looked to her.
"You've already won it," Eliza said with a smile.
"Thanks," Beth managed a small smile and feeling her heart beat in a way that felt like it was fluttering for a moment.