Tuxing was fairly frustrated by Liao's sort of selling the Year of the Tiger competition as something of a singles tournament for her and Liao. It wasn't that she was necessarily opposed to the idea. She'd accepted her role as the mature and guiding light for the Five Elements over the years, and that had also included raising Liao. But now, after a few years, Tuxing privately had to accept that things were changing. Liao seemed more secure on Heiya Island and was adjusting well enough to the school there that Tuxing also had the sense that it wouldn't be too long before there wouldn't be much more that Tuxing could really do for Liao.
And at the same time, her sisters had moved forward with their lives. Huoxing and Jinxing had made friends and potentially had some that might be interested in them. The greatest success was for Shuixing, who had met Nate Bowman during the first martial arts showcase in Lyre and striking a friendship that led to letters and some polite if corny jokes that lead to things going beyond just friendship. It led to real romance and Nate became a male Water Buffalo Animalian and later married Shuixing, thus moving to Heiya Island as well. In theory, Shuixing and Nate were supposed to come with them in order to crown the winner of the Year of the Tiger tournament given that they won the Year of the Ox competition the previous year, however, they also something else that had come up.
In eastern China, a Water Buffalo had charged through a restaurant door, rammed on patron or worker and then wrecked the restaurant while another patron or worker managed to move the man who'd gotten hit by the bull to a safer spot and saved that man from being killed. Ultimately finding out that the bull was a member of a local farmer's herd there were interrogations and investigations. The farmer claimed the animal was securely penned up and shouldn't have been loose and the only security footage only showed the bull's rampage. It'd then taken awhile to ultimately decide on uplifting the bull in the hopes of the bull being able to remember how he got loose and what drove him to the restaurant. That then required Shuixing to be de-vaccinated for the Animalia Virus to then uplift this bull, which Ping came to report on. Nate stated he would go along to make sure the Chinese government didn't abduct Shuixing, though they hoped they would be able to meet up with Tuxing and Liao later.
That then left Tuxing and Liao alone in Lyre for the moment, and then having Liao apparently use their single status as something that would only cause trouble. Tuxing wasn't necessarily opposed to finding someone that could be her mate, but she didn't find just advertising it proper. Particularly when there were a fair number of people who became Animalians purely for sexual reasons. That wasn't a worthy reason or comparable with Nate accepting Shuixing's love and offer to convert him.
"I'm disappointed in you, Liao," Tuxing said sternly as the two of them walked toward the locker room where they were to get changed for the first event, the pageant for tigresses and the similar contest for the tigers, "and this is partially why I mother you."
"Which is precisely why I did it," Liao answered with a smirk, "you know that several people have converted for this competition... and there were a fair number that converted because the tiger is a popular animal."
"And many of them likely to be just some meathead that wants the tiger's raw power or might," Tuxing answered, "or are simply looking purely for sex. Not a responsible mate."
Liao dismissed that with a wave and then opened the door to the unisex locker rooms. She could agree that some of the people who converted to become Animalians often did so because they wanted some of the various notable physical features that Animalians were known for. This often included those that figured that because Animalians tended to have a much higher libido than Humans that an Animalian would be so "sex starved" that that was all they did. But Liao had also noted that many that did convert for that reason, ultimately found that sex wasn't the only thing that went through an Animalian's mind and as such, sure there might be a meathead or two, but if they wanted to be with the Miss Year of the Tiger, they'd have to shape up and shape up quick.
They entered the locker room and found that the room was packed various Tiger Animalians were readying themselves. Some were already in pairs, including a pair of White Tiger Animalians, one male and one female, the male a converted Human and the female and uplifted Tigress. There was also one Tigress Animalian, whose fur was longer and fluffier than Tuxing's or Liao's. And for the moment, a Polar Bear Animalian was doing that Tigress's hair and gave a low growl at anyone that tried to interfere. Though, some of that was soon dropped as Tuxing and Liao entered, and the others present noted, particularly those males that had recently converted. A few whistles were enough to get Tuxing to give an almost pained groan as she led Liao toward the lockers they'd been assigned to for the tournament.
“Hello, good looking,” said one male as Tuxing and Liao moved to head to the section where their lockers were.
"Hello," Tuxing said slowly looking at the male, presently straddling the bench in the middle of the aisle for the lockers in just a pair of jeans. Admittedly he was well muscled, but the pose sort of told her that this was just a meathead looking to play to what Liao had advertised.
"This is all going to be awesome..." the male stated, "I must admit... I've never understood the concept behind the timing of Chinese New Year or the selection of the animals for the zodiac, though I also don't know why the Western zodiac chose things like "Scorpio" or things like that... but China at least picked some awesome ones. Tigers are awesome."
"Yes, yes, they are," Tuxing replied with a glance to Liao who only smirked and waved her on, "though this competition would not be needed to prove that... tigers are awesome."
"True, but that'll be fun," the male answered, "don't you think?"
"Of course, it'll be fun, when I win," Liao smirked, "but we do have to get ready."
"Oh... of course," the male actually gave a sheepish smile as he stepped back over the bench and let Tuxing go to her locker which put her where his leg had been while Liao went around behind Tuxing and then to her locker which was closer to the wall than Tuxing's locker, "sorry... I'm just kinda excited. I never really had a chance to compete or win anything like this before. I took karate as a kid, but we never had tournaments against others and my parents ran out of money before I could get good and then I was rather sheltered... but this was a chance to break free and do something awesome... I'm excited."
"I'm sure you are," Tuxing answered.
"And with so many good-looking ladies... I'd also figured to say hi and that I'm a good guy," the male continued.
"I'm sure she knows that buster," another male voice said, "let her get ready."
That got Liao to look over and note another male Tiger Animalian there. He was presently seated on the bench, though she also noted there was a bit of pace between him and the wall. She thought she saw something in that space but wasn't sure and put it out of her mind. The one thing she did note was that this male was a bit bigger than the male that had greeted them and that the fur on his back and shoulders was longer and fluffier than the other male's. The orange was also of a lighter shade than Tuxing's or Liao's. It gave the indication that this was a male Siberian Tiger Animalian rather than a Bengal Tiger Animalian.
"Sorry about Wayne," this male spoke, "he's been telling just about everyone how excited he is, male or female. Lenard Bearstone."
Liao shook the male's hand and then turned to open her locker and begin to look through for the things that would be needed for the first competition, which for the females was the swimsuit competition. She imagined the males would have their own version, too.
"I am Liao, and my grumpy teacher, Tuxing," Liao answered, "you're here to win too?"
"I suppose," Lenard Bearstone answered, "though a lot of it is more to try and do something very important for someone."
"Oh?" Liao wondered as began going through her locker and looking specifically for the swimsuit that she would be wearing.
"For my brother, Mikey," Lenard Bearstone answered and leaned back to give both Tuxing and Liao a view of a young boy sitting on the other side of the Siberian Tiger Animalian. The boy shared Lenard's blond hair and blue eyes.
"Hello," Mikey said politely.
"Would he not be best with his parents?" Tuxing wondered. She could accept that Animalians were more open about things like sexuality and nudity and knew that places like the Meat Market made sure to keep minors out of the club, and that could well mean that places like these unisex locker rooms could be a potential triggering issue for most parents, particularly with regard to young children.
"If they were still alive... I'd agree," Lenard Bearstone responded, "but that was partially what made 2020 a bad year. They both caught Covid and ultimately died from it... and it was a bit of a wakeup call for me as I found myself looking after Mikey as a result. And that brought in other fears. I have a nice home and property in Idaho... not too far from Yellowstone, which for me was grand. But that location also meant the occasional run in with wolves or a grizzly... and while I'd like to think I'm a good shot, I really didn't want to have to shoot it out with the animals that lived nearby... but neither could I just let things be to where Mikey would be vulnerable."
"So, you became a Tiger Animalian?" Liao wondered.
"Tigers have been historically known to depress wolf populations where the two exist in the same area," Lenard Bearstone answered, "and have hunted bears. So, I figured I'd convert... be the largest tiger there is and then leave assorted scratching posts at the edges of my property and provide that as a shield. And since my schedule is such that I will be home when Mikey isn't in school, I can also be there. So, I'm pleased there... the competition... I'm mostly hoping to win so that I have additional funds to make sure Mikey is cared for. Such as should he want to convert later, when he's old enough to make that choice or decide which kind of Animalian he'd want to be... not to mention be able to handle some debts that my parents left behind when they died. In this... it's all my fight to protect my brother."
"Sounds noble," Tuxing commented.
Lenard Bearstone nodded, "but it will be tough. There are a fair number of males that converted solely for this competition. And while they can be fairly nice guys if you get to know them, there will be enough to compete against that it will be tough. Even for a public-school librarian who's also competed in some amateur rodeos in the area near where I live. But if Mikey stays safe and happy, it'll be worth it."
Tuxing couldn't help but smile and nod to him. She wasn't sure if Bearstone was talking more to her or Liao, but in some ways, she felt more into him that the other male, "Wayne." Liao also smiled, though more in noting that while Lenard Bearstone had longer fur than she and Tuxing did, showing the difference between the Bengal and Siberian subspecies, his muscles were even more impressive which sat in the back of her mind that if he put his mind to it, he could probably take a bear without a gun as he was now.
"But I'm about ready to go... Mikey and I can head and give you too privacy," Lenard Bearstone said politely as he stood up and Mikey almost instinctively took his hand, "Good luck."
"Thanks," Tuxing, Liao, and Wayne commented, almost in unison as Lenard lead Mikey out. Mikey also waved to both Liao and Tuxing as they headed out as well.