my arm. That makes us even.”
Gabe’s topaz cat eyes flashed. “NNOOO WWAAAYYYY…”
I lost my warrior posture and indignantly snapped straight up. He’d been practicing talking in his feline form. It assaulted my ears worse than nails on a chalkboard. “Ah!” I wagged my finger at him. “None of that! That creepy voice sounds like Satan! Or a blender. Or a blender possessed by Satan. You start that up again and I’m leaving. Understand?”
He rolled his eyes and clamped his mouth firmly shut. With a pointed stare, he made it clear that he would adhere to my rule.
“Thank you. Now, where were we?” Simultaneously we returned to our prowl. We trailed each other, both looking for an opportunity. Mine came when Gabe stepped wrong and gave me a straight shot at his ribs. I took advantage of it and bolted directly at him. He started to turn, but didn’t make it in time. I hit him square in the midsection.
His air escaped in a loud “Huynh!”
I wrapped my arms around him and took him down, just as I had seen him do countless times on the football field. I bounced to my feet, bubbling with pride. My whole life I had been the wallflower, the awkward kid that watched from the sidelines just to spare herself the humiliation. For the first time I came out on top. My happy dance was required. I bebopped around and gloated.
Until I noticed Gabe hadn’t gotten up. He lay motionless on the ground where he fell. Fear coursed through me. I hurried over to find the burly lion gasping for air. I knocked the wind out of him and he couldn’t seem to reclaim it.
“Oh, geez! I’m so sorry Gabe. You okay?” I bent down next to him, trying to figure out how to give CPR to a lion.
In an instant his breathing stabilized. His head lifted off the ground and he grinned wickedly at me. A monstrous paw whacked me square in the chest and sent me tumbling. I turned my tumble into a back somersault and was back on my feet in seconds.
I shook my head in disdain, “I knew you’d fight dirty.”
He pulled himself up to full height and roared. I gave him the evil eye then swooped in for another attack. I only made it two strides before the shrill call of an eagle stopped me in my tracks.
“Someone’s coming!” I yelled to my brother.
I started one way, then darted the other, not quite sure what to do with myself. I settled for the log by the stream as my destination. I scurried over and sat down. I crossed my legs, sat up straight and tried to look casual. I realized too late that my pose would seem odd for someone sitting alone in the woods. (Gabe must have hidden by now.) The rustle of leaves coming from the path told me I didn’t have time to come up with anything else. Whoever the hiker was, they were going to find me sitting there looking like I was waiting for a bus. Brilliant.
Through the leaves spiky, disheveled platinum hair appeared. I didn’t recognize who it was until she ducked under the branch in front of me and gasped.
“What the heck?! I’m going to have to claw my own eyes out! Gabe! Why?! What possible reason could you have for being NAKED!” Kendall exclaimed and covered her eyes.
Completely bewildered, I swiveled around. There stood Gabe, stark naked. The only thing he could cover himself with was his own hands. With a beet red face he cringed as if in pain.
I immediately spun back around and shielded my own eyes. “I could have happily gone my whole life without seeing that!” Sitting there with my hands over my eyes, I addressed our new arrival. “Kendall! You hacked your hair off!”
Her voice was muffled by her arms, “Actually, Marcie at the only beauty salon in town cut it for me. Do you like it?”
“Can’t tell yet. Gabe, is it safe to look?”
“No!” He yelped. “I’m still standing here naked.”
“Why? Why are you naked?”
“I don’t know!” He snapped. “You said someone was coming, so I changed back. But I couldn’t find my bag of clothes.”
“Why didn’t you just hide?”
Silence. Then, “I didn’t think of that.”
Kendall and I both erupted in laughter. “You … thought of … naked, before … hiding!” I choked out.
“Yes. Shut up. I’m going to change back now.”
“Please do!” Kendall and I said in unison.
It only took a second before the Gabe-lion