Second scene, second practice fight. Two new brothers make their appearance for a practice session after searching for a potential place to practice.

Honey Boxing #2

Honey is casually occupied and alone to herself, calmly sweeping the floor of her gym. She is alone for the moment, but her next guests will keep her on her toes. During her cleaning, the female feline darts her eyes to the door, watching two new guests pop in.

Stepping inside the gym are a pair of two new black panther males. Honey watches them enter and from first glance, they look recognizable right off the bat. Problem is, they're not who she thinks they are, especially when their voices are different.

“Hey Rick! We gonna train together or what? Think we got some fresh meat in here??” One of the black panthers called out. This immediately draws Honey’s suspicion and ire, and the female cat can only assume they're referring to her as ‘fresh meat', though they haven't actually met her yet.

“Bruce, we just got here! Give it a little time and we can box together! You're too jittery with this whole ‘fresh meat’ thing, man! Give it a rest, brother!” From Rick’s annoyed voice, he’s already in the changing room; at least, that's what Honey assumes when she observes the two new black panther males disappearing into one of the locker rooms.

Honey can already feel a headache coming on, but she brushes it off and decides to change into her boxing attire to match and greet the two new patrons.

~~~~~

“Come on Bruce, give it all you got!” The two black Panthers are engaged in a friendly practice bout with each other with Honey openly spectating from the sidelines. After Rick opens his arms wide in an inviting gesture, Bruce ends up clobbering the rival black panther with a swift right fist against his solar plexus area, winding Rick. When Bruce advances forward to grab Rick, the younger black panther delivers an uppercut to the stomach to send Bruce reeling, adding in a laugh afterwards.

Honey cringes at the two brothers directing and landing blows on each other. Sighing to herself, Honey is faced with the additional prospect of challenging them to a match. Knowing they're bigger and heavier, Honey is already aware that she must be careful with them.

After witnessing Rick land another powerful uppercut to Bruce's abs, Honey finally clears her throat to reveal herself, catching the attention of both black panther brothers.

“The name’s Honey if you boys want to know. And if you're up looking for a boxing partner, I can hold my own. You two up for a match or two?” After introducing herself to the two, Honey immediately gets to the point in issuing a direct practice challenge to the pair.

Although Rick is the first to immediately accept the offer with him and his older brother gazing at the female, same can't be said for Bruce, which Rick points out, “I’m up for a little match with ya! Ol’ Bruce here may have to sit this one out, as you can see.”

*WHAP!*

A hard tap to the nose from Bruce sends Rick's head snapping to the side, the elder brother using this as a form of protest where he insists, “I’m fine, Rick! I’m game for it as much as you are! What's one punch gotta do to stop me!?”

“Watching you two go at it, that was a hard hit he dealt to you, y’know? Could have shattered your ribs.” Honey attempts to sweetly talk Bruce out of joining, much to the latter’s ire. Yet the elder black panther points one of his green gloves towards her and insists, “Who are you to tell me what to do, lady? I'm Bruce Chaundry and I am a military warrior! Rick is the second best to me! Think you can stop us?!”

With an exasperated sigh of annoyance, Honey coolly hisses, “Just telling ya for you own good, big guy. And another thing - just because you're bigger than me, it doesn't mean anything. You can intimidate me all you want but I will knock you flat on your tail, you hear me?”

With the situation beginning to heat up, Honey bravely confronts Bruce on his status, as well as observing his overconfidence. Even Rick is amazed - the younger black panther whistles, “Now that is a woman who doesn't mess around. Bruce, I’m warning you - do not destroy the gym or do anything crazy.”

All this only fuels Bruce’s cocky attitude even more where he sniggers, “Even more reason to show this chick who's boss!”

Having listened attentively to the names, Honey's ears are tuned straight up where she narrows her eyes at the elder black panther brother. “Bruce, is it? You're on!”

~~~~~

(🎵 Techno - Chronos [The Need For Speed OST])

Rick is visibly upset and nervous, pacing around the ring. He hadn't anticipated something like this boiling over into a practice match that turned into a fight for dominance. At least Bruce has the confidence and ability to fight and show off. But Honey herself has the bravery to fight off a criminal, let alone a larger black panther who’s military material.

Bruce is laughing in pure confidence, knowing he can just mop the floor with the female cat. Honey, on the other hand, is ready to snap Bruce back to reality.

Just before the practice match begins, Rick calls out to Bruce, “Bruce, be careful and don't underestimate her!”

Bruce harrumphs, knocking his own boxing gloves together, “Yeah, I will once I– *WHAM!* Gwwawwhhhh!!”

A sudden power fist from Honey causes Bruce to recoil, having been hit in the stomach a third consecutive time. Then the female sends a power jab going straight for Bruce’s face, sending him reeling towards the ropes.

Honey proceeds to advance forward, just as Bruce recovers. The female cat then goes for a right hook, targeting Bruce’s abs once more. However, Bruce nails Honey in the face with a solid right hook of his own, sending the female cat spiraling to the mat in a one-hit knockdown.

Bruce’s adrenaline begins to wear off a few moments after some tense silence. And only then does Honey pick herself up off the floor. There is a stinging pain in her jaw from the blow. She begins massaging her jaw, right in front of Bruce.

“Ha ha haaaaa!! Didn't I tell you I’d mop the floor with you?? Look who's down and out now!” Celebrating his win, Bruce strikes a victory pose while gloating in front of Honey, whom he just bested in a rather quick practice fight. But in the middle of his celebration, Honey interrupts him.

Just as Bruce leaves the arena to meet back up with his brother, Honey rushes to the ropes, “Hold it! I’m not done with both of you yet! You’ve won this time, Bruce, but your brother is next!”

“Ha! I’d like to see you try and beat him! This'll make both our day!” Reeling from his confidence and his victory, Bruce accepts the proposal and encourages Rick to step into the ring. Though reluctant, Rick later dons his red gloves and climbs into the ring to meet Honey head on.

Like Bruce's practice match, Rick has three chances to knock Honey down only once. This time, both fighters are instantly ready.

(🎵 Checkpoint - Ian Livingstone [Grid 2 OST])

From down below, Bruce yells out to Rick, “Knock her out, Rick! You can do it! Go for it!”

Though Rick is also bigger and heavier than Honey, the black panther is far less aggressive than the female before him. And this could be used to Honey’s advantage or displeasure.

Although both fighters begin circling each other, Rick doesn't move an inch. Instead, he attempts to size Honey up. Big mistake.

Honey jumps forward with a swift uppercut to Rick’s stomach, sinking her fist deeper into his abs for increased damage. This leaves Rick wheezing for air after having the wind knocked out of him. The damage doesn't stop there.

Honey doesn't even give Rick a chance to recover and she goes on the attack, pelting the larger black panther with a barrage of fists to the face and body. Rick is barely able to hold his own against Honey, who is determined not to let her family name go to waste.

Rick is already winded enough and barely able to hold his own against the lighter female cat. However, the black panther refuses to cave in to defeat.

Switching tactics, Rick attempts to block Honey’s attacks, despite getting walloped in the face every now and then. With each blow to the face and chest, the black panther can still feel his stamina draining. But a punishing power blow to the chest catches Rick by surprise, leaving him stunned and disoriented. Using this to her advantage, Honey decks Rock across the left side of his face with a heavy right hook of her own, sending the black panther dropping face first to the canvas.

Knocking her own gloves together, Honey huffs, “Not so tough now, huh? I may be smaller but I have a reputation of my own to uphold. Let this be a lesson to you too, Bruce!!”

While Bruce grumbles out a response, Rick manages to rise and pick himself up off the floor. The younger black panther returns to the fight to meet his opponent a second time. But when they tap gloves, Rick swiftly targets Honey’s face with a left hook of his own… only to quickly hit dead air.

“Hmph!” Honey manages to duck underneath and avoid getting hit. She gives Rick no time to recover after his whiff; the female boxer straightens up and immediately targets Rick’s body once more, starting off with a power jab and following up with several heavy swings to his stomach. Unfortunately, this leaves her face and head wide open and Rick notices this under assault. Taking a chance, he goes for the opening with a right overhead punch…

*BLAM!*

“GAAAGH!!!” The sudden divebomb nullifies the remainder of Honey’s assault, leaving her dizzied with stars floating around her head. Using this opportunity to turn things around, Rick launches a right hook to her body, causing her to squeak and snap her from her daze. When Rick aims for another body shot, Honey counters this with an uppercut to the chin, followed by a moderate right cross to his side. With Rick reeling, Honey unleashes a left overhead of her own to Rick’s head…

*BAM!*

…the black panther drops to the floor a second time, this time with stars floating around his own head. This time, Honey performs the 10-count on Rick and Bruce is shouting for Rick to get up but it is no use - Rick is knocked out… but not for a long time. The younger black panther comes around only about 15 minutes later after their practice session ended. But he is still disoriented.

Out of touch with reality, the black panther grumbles, “Ergh… what happened..??”

“You were knocked out…” comes a familiar voice, “...but you finally came to. You lost, Rick.” Standing over the black panther, Honey kneels down to him, having stayed inside the arena until he woke up.

After getting himself off the canvas once again, Rick giggles, “You really had me there! I thought I almost had you for a second!”

Although Rick lost his practice fight, he still celebrates Honey’s win, laughing with her and encasing her in his arms for a hug. But when he meets up with Bruce, Rick notices the annoyed expression on his brother's face and reasons with him, “Bruce, you need to chill out. This isn't a public match, just a casual practice session. It’s not like we're competing for a world title or anything.”

“Do you realize how much of an embarrassment you made to both of us when you lost?” Bruce hissed, irritated. Rick just rolls his eyes in response and remarks, “Unlike you, I am not a sore loser! As long as you don't kill your opponent, or leave them badly beaten, you’re fine. But Bruce?”

“What…?” The elder brother hissed.

Rick cautions his brother and reminds him, “Remember, there is no such thing as a ‘perfect win record’. Don't let your stats go to your head because there will always be someone to knock you down and beat you back into reality.”

While Rick leaves for the changing room, Bruce is left alone to contemplate Rick’s words. He hates to admit it, but Rick is awfully right. Maybe Bruce has too much pride in himself. But being an army veteran has its fair share of prideful feelings too. The elder brother later rises and rolls his shoulders while heaving a deep huff and breathlessly admitting, “Maybe you are right, brother. Then what's the point of being an army veteran when you have no pride at all? It's not a game; it's not casual. It is real life.”

With Rick’s words still fresh in his mind, Bruce leaves the gym for the locker room to meet up with his younger brother, and hopefully tend to their bruises, egos included.

~~~~~

Honey belongs to HazukiWolfX from ToyHouse; Bruce and Rick Chaundry belong to me!