A Tiger's Spirit

2. Gym

The rain had died away by the time the two men were at the gym. I followed Lubomir as he pushed the door open.

"So, what have you been up to?" Lubomir asked me, as we were walking towards a locker room.

"You know I haven't been doing shit", I grunted, and Lubomir chuckled.

"I thought you were supposed to do some tiger stuff?" he asked, glancing back at me as we sat down to put our stuff in the lockers. I had told him couple of weeks back that I would try to discover how to get my other form back. When I was 10 years old, I had gotten mad at some kid and attacked him as a tiger. Since that day, my parents didn't let me turn into a tiger ever again, and that rule was still stuck in my head. I had lots of trouble changing, even when I was alone.

"I tried, but I couldn't progress. And I don't really have anyone to ask about it, either", I answered, as I filled my water bottle. 

"Maybe we could do some kind of a thing", he started ominously, "for example, if we got you really mad at something-"

"You know that that's a bad idea. What if I kill someone?" I asked, annoyance in my voice. I had always been scared that I would redo what I did nine years ago.

"I would hold you down", Lubomir said, flashing his long teeth. I wondered why it was so hard for me to change, when for everybody else it was so natural. It was supposed to be natural, it was part of my soul, after all.

"Okay, whatever, let's go", Lubomir sighed, as he walked out of the locker room door, and I hurried after him.

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"Can you spot?" Lubomir asked, when he loaded the bench barbell as much as he could. I observed the barbell. He had like 300lbs loaded, and it was his warmup. People at the gym were looking at Lubomir weirdly, when he was getting ready to bench it. His panther skills really were extraordinary. 

I stood next to the barbell, ready to grab it if he failed, even though I knew he wouldn't. He lifted it for 10 reps, before slamming it back to the racks. 

"Too light", he grunted, glancing at the barbell. There was no space left for weights anymore. I glanced at his lean legs.

"Maybe you should squat once in a while", I chuckled, pointing at the squat racks. Lubomir gave me a glare.

"Well, at least it would give me a new challenge", he muttered, as he stood up. I had still not decided what I would train today, so I just followed him around. Lubomir was loading the squat barbell full too, but I put my hand to the barbell to stop him. He looked at me confused.

"Bro, you're not gonna be able to lift that", I snort. He might have been strong, but his legs were his weak point. I guess that's what you get for skipping leg days.

"It's just 210lbs I'll try it out", Lubomir grunted as he got ready to squat, but then he stood up and looked around him startled.

"What's wrong?" I asked, noticing the pure horror in his eyes.

"Frank!" he basically shouted, as he sprung towards the locker room.

I stared behind him, annoyed. Why does he need music all the time? I usually listen to music too at the gym, but not with friends. I sighed, and got under the barbell. I could at least use this spare time to warmup.

I lifted the barbell up with my upper back, and took a step back. I took a deep breath, and squatted. The first 10 reps felt pretty easy, so I returned the barbell to the rack and took it as a good warmup. Lubomir also ran back to the scene.

"Hey I- Damn, tigress", Lubomir chuckled, as he noticed that I put the barbell back up. 

"Did you find your beloved?" I asked amused, when he started to put his earplugs on.

"I did! Can't believe I forgot him..." he grunted, when he walked under the barbell and lifted it up. He now looked way more concentrated, when he had his music on. He got good solid 8 reps in, before letting the barbell down to the rack.

"Harder than last time", he panted, as he took a sip from his bottle. He almost choked on his water, when he saw something in my legs.

"Waiifoef!" he spat out, mouth full of water, while he pointed at my legs. I confusedly glanced at my legs, and I noticed a giant snake around them. It had wrapped itself around my left leg, while hissing at me. Lubomir was in panic, but I had a feeling that it wasn't a real snake. I would recognize those yellow piercing eyes anywhere. I kicked the snake as hard as I could, and it backed away with a hiss. 

"Be careful, it could bite!" Lubomir gasped, and pulled me to "safety" beside him.

"Chill. That's Noel", I grunted, and glared at the snake. Slowly, it turned back to human form, revealing a light brown haired boy with yellow eyes. His hair was ruffled from crawling in the floor. Slowly, his friends walked from behind him. One of them was clapping, as he walked towards us.

"Good detective skills! Almost thought that you would run away like the pussy you are", Cory chuckled, when he stood in front of us. Cory Wells, this bitch. He had always bullied me and my friends, especially Darale, as he was the weakest of us. But during the last year they had shifted their attentions towards me, probably because I couldn't change to an animal form and they thought that made me a pussy. Maybe it did. And I have a tendency to snap back at people, so they definitely got the reaction. 

"You are the pussy, Corny. You were hiding in some corner while your green friend here did the work", Lubomir snapped, as he glared at Cory. The dark brown haired boy glared at Lubomir, most likely annoyed by the nickname he had called him. 

"What? Are you gonna howl yourself out of here?" I grunted, relying on his wolf-animal form.

"Good for you to talk. You are just a human", Cory spat, and I narrowed my eyes. That one hit close to home.

"Whatever, bitches. We are gonna get out of here", Lubomir said quickly, and he put his arm around me in an attempt to lead me out of there. 

"Run away like you always do!" Cory yelled behind us, and I had to use all my willpower to not turn back. I felt my claws lengthening, and I buried them in my palms. It hurt, and I saw blood dripping from them. But I couldn't let my anger out, especially in here. 

"Next time we're gonna kick them in the face", Lubomir promised, as he led me to the locker rooms. 

"He ruined our training session. Why are we letting him rule us?" I grunted, even though I knew the answer. It was illegal to hurt other humans, even as an animal. I angrily started to gather my stuff from my locker.

"We can go to the bar. You know, the one where the attack happened", Lubomir suggested, and I glanced at him.

"I thought you couldn't make it." 

Lubomir looked at his phone.

"Well, I think Frank can wait for one day", he answered, shoving his phone to his pocket.

"Okay. I'll just message Layla and Daradel and tell them that we are already going."