While the UFC-A tournament had the potential to go well into the fall, mostly for health reasons and letting the combatants recover, the A-BC Tournament didn't have that health restriction. Though the fact that the tournament was being held at roughly the same time as the UFC-A Tournament had meant that some aspects of the show had to be delayed. It might have been a slight disappointment to many of the human fans that had come from outside Lyre or Animalia to see the contest, but it was also televised, so it wasn't as though they wouldn't be able to see it at all.
And since the A-BC Tournament didn't have the sort of recovery issues that were needed, they could actually progress through many of the rounds quicker than the UFC-A Tournament. This meant that even with school starting, there weren't that many rounds left to go through, which kept a fair number of Lyre's residents, both Human and Animalian interested in observing the last rounds of the competition. It was this that actually seemed to be the most enjoyable to the competitors.
The one who seemed to enjoy it the most was Buford. He never expected to get this far in the competition, mostly for how well built all Animalians were. In this, he had to do a lot to show he'd built up more muscle than he'd had before. At the same time, with his being in the couples division with Aleta, there'd also been a lot more to the artistic nature of the posing that went along with it. There, Buford was actually quite glad for the tips and pointers that he'd gotten from Anton before the competition, as he'd never been in any couples competition before. Though, at the same time, it also seemed that a fair number that they'd been competing against in the tournament were also rather new to it, and thus everything evened out in that regard.
"Thanks for being here with me," Buford whispered to Aleta as they stood up on the stage opposite a pair Jaguar Animalians who had also made it that far. Both of their competitors were former humans that entered in the contest after feeling all the rush of energy and strength that nearly every Animalian felt.
"It's important to you," Aleta said to him, "and you've been good to me... and like many of your friends, you're looking for a second shot at glory and to prove you are better than your past. In a way... I can identify with that."
Buford nodded as that was something of a reference to his past Steroid abuse and how a part of his reasoning for transferring over to the A-BC Tournament for the summer was to show that he could win clean. Just about all of the Project White Lily Members had wanted that. There was a little bit of sadness that they weren't competing against Anton, but by now, he had school to teach and seemed content with that. And in a way it related a bit to Aleta's own experience. She'd been uplifted in the Amazon because of local fears that she was going to attack someone, a shark's reputation essentially preceding her. Getting past that was often a big thing.
He then paused to the table where the row of judges sat and were conversing with each other. After they finished their deliberation they held up the score cards they had with them. Buford's eyes practically bulged as he saw them and as the numbers were then projected up onto the scoreboard suspended from the ceiling. He then glanced up toward it, and while from the angle the he was looking from the numbers looked upside-down, he was able to tell that it put he and Aleta in first place. And with a small smile, he held his bond-mate's hand and raised them up to a small cheer. Before the trophy and the check could be presented the pair of Jaguar Animalians approached him and Aleta.
"You two did good," the male commented offering his paw, "This was rather fun."
"Yeah," the female agreed, "I was NEVER into this stuff before I became an Animalian... then I had all this restless energy and added strength."
"And you both did well," Buford commented, "I'm not sure by this angle... but I don't think we beat you by that much."
"And you look happy together," Aleta added as she shook the female Jaguar's hand as well.
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In the stands, Amos and Esteban clapped for Buford's success, as it came off as a real success for the White Lily members, which was ultimately what mattered. Neither of them had Buford's success and the fact that he DID succeed. Amos got through the preliminary rounds but ended up losing to Larry in the second round. Esteban made it all the way to the finals in his grouping, and found himself pitted directly against Carl. It made for an interesting final...
Carl had had his family cheering him on, but because their final contest pitted an Alligator Snapping Turtle Animalian against a Box Turtle Animalian, the chants of "Turtle Power" during their contest probably went both ways. In the end Carl ended up winning, but just as with the pair of Jaguar Animalians congratulating Buford and Aleta, Esteban had no hard feelings. Sure the second place prize wasn't as big as the grand prize but there was something about what Carl had said in their first meeting that just seemed to stick with Esteban for some reason. That was Carl's preference to just have fun.
"So... what are you going to spend your winnings on?" Amos asked to Carl as he looked past Esteban as the group was seated together with Peter and Carl's cheering section on the other side of him.
"I'll probably put it aside," Carl commented, "Some to pay off the taxes for it... and the rest for college investments for Peter and his siblings."
"Maybe some for a wedding in the future too," Fran commented.
"Mom..." Peter practically blushed through his scales. He was happy with his present dating situation and did hope to get married in the future, but he wasn't actively planning that sort of ceremony.
"Makes some sense..." Amos shrugged, "though... I'm sure there'd still be a little something that you could do..."
"With school starting again... not really," Carl chuckled, "all the rules and responsibilities."
"You sound a lot like Anton and his wife," Esteban commented.
"He's our PE teacher," Peter spoke up, "starting with Lyre High... was then divided between WSA and Lyre High last year... and now that everyone, Human and Animalian, is at WSA he'll be there full time now."
"Yeah... Anton seems to have been rather popular," Esteban answered, "well... at least you're able to have some fun here and not getting overwhelmed with school."
There were a few chuckles and nods at that. The then resumed clapping as the judges presented Buford and Aleta with their trophy and grand prize check. It was a fairly fun thing to see, and the only thing that went through Esteban and Amos's mind was to wonder where Larry was.
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Larry, meanwhile was coming out of the men's restroom behind the stand areas with a slight sigh of relief. He was also regretting the bottles of water he'd been drinking earlier. He could hear some applause, which he guessed meant that the need to visit the bathroom had cost him seeing who won. He sighed at that and then glanced over to see a lone female Animalian snacking on a piece of sausage, which got him curious as to why she'd chosen at this moment to get a snack. He also thought he'd recognized her from some of the other shows put on during the competition. It was a female Doberman Pincer Animalian, but she was far more heavily muscled.
With his curiosity driving him, Larry made his way over toward her. She noticed him and looked up with a half calm and half nervous look. Larry kept his frill folded down against his neck and raised his hands to try and show that he had no intent of posing a threat.
"You can relax... I'm not out to take your food," Larry spoke, "Though... I am a bit curious about why you're here and not watching the awards. I think they're supposed to be showing who won in the Couples Competition. I'd be there to watch... but everything I'd drunk earlier today had to be let out."
"And you didn't want to make a mess?" the Doberman asked while raising an eyebrow.
Larry nodded, "Name's Larry."
"Cammy," the female answered.
"Weren't you one of the people in the contest earlier?" Larry wondered.
"No... I was uplifted a bit too late to enter, but I did meet some good friends," Cammy answered, "Marvin... who's friendly and kind of cute in a Corgi way... and Stuart, who's a pretty strong and big Great Dane."
"Yeah... I remember seeing you lift them up while they balanced on your hands," Larry commented, deciding not to say that his amazement at the feet had been enough for him to miss one of the official procedures and meetings that was to go into the next round for him in his part of the competition. It was a disappointment for Larry, to be sure, but at least it was more due to a technicality rather than not being good enough or because of a rule violation. "Shouldn't they be here with you?"
"They're college students, and had to go back to UNLV," Cammy answered, "and they actually don't live in Lyre or Animalia. They came up on a visit at the start of the summer, joined Animalia on a drunken bet, and did some odd jobs here and there around the summer..."
"That Stuart guy looked mighty sweet on you," Larry rubbed his chin for a moment, "and you did put on a great performance... Provided Animalian rights remain protected... at least legally speaking... I'd imagine you and he could make a pretty good living with various contests and selling work out tips."
"He is sweet," Cammy answered, glad her black and tan fur hid her blush, "but that's still a lot of other future things to handle. He has college and I have some of the acclimation classes to finish... Right now it's mostly seeing as to where I'd be placed intellectually. If it's at the college level... I can apply, but can't obviously attend until next year and will have to just do some odd jobs here and there. If it's at the high school level... they'll probably send me to this Animalia school they have set up."
"WSA... World-wide School of Animalia a friend of mine has told me," Larry answered, "if they send you there... don't worry. He's a good man and I'm sure he can give ya tips on winnin' this Stuart's heart and earning his parents' approval."
"How did...?" Cammy wondered.
"You sounded a bit down when you said that your friends weren't from Lyre or Animalia," Larry answered, "don't worry. My friend's been a big help with me and some other friends of mine. Even if they place you at the college level, if you talk with him... I'm sure he can help."
He then proceeded to give Cammy the numbers she'd need to call to get in contact with Anton and Marlysa. They might not be psychologists that could help Cammy with any potential issues with judgmental parents, but they were smart and helpful. And Project White Lily had done a lot in Larry's mind to help him move past where he'd been in the past and with regard to his own healing, and in that he figured that there was a lot of sound advice that Anton and Marlysa could give, not just with regard to dealing with potentially judgmental parents but also with helping Cammy determine her future.