Buck’s eyebrows snapped up. He turned his head so fast, his ears had to bend to catch up.

“You are f---ing kidding me.”

Dario’s ears flicked back, which they never did. That made it harder to respond without showing his surprise. “Semple is one of our most senior trainers. He’s had more experience than anyone—”

“He’s a roo!” Buck snapped, cutting off the gryphon’s words. Dario snapped his beak shut. It was all he could do not to wonder how easy it would be to punch the speciest little rabbit who barely came up to his shoulder blades. But it was bad form to do that to a new client. Mr. Cooper would not have been pleased.

It was bigoted of Buck to hone in on something the FBA was blind to, but even in modern furry society, everyone knew speciest feelings bubbled under the surface. It was understood that some, especially hot-headed athletes like Buck, might have trouble keeping a progressive outlook, so it was okay for outbursts to come out now and then.

At least it would have been if Semple weren’t standing right there.

The towering kangaroo forced a tooth-grinding smile, as if a bee had stung him somewhere he wouldn’t share. His brow furrowed around his widening eyes as he thought of saying something, but worried the tension in the air would be sour on his tongue. So he just stood, scratching at the back of his thick neck, wondering what he did.

He hadn’t done anything. With the 2011-2012 FBA season behind him, Buck was angry. After their championship victory in 2011, he had expected much from his club, certainly much more than a first round knockout in the playoffs. Even that would have been tolerable if Buck hadn’t been injured in the last week of the regular season, forcing him to sit out the first three playoff matches. Buck had been inconsolable during the series, pulling on his own ears, squirming in his seat, furious at watching his team lose to the Arctics, a club he knew they could beat with him on the floor. But with their superstar injured, the Thrust had to depend on his cold-blooded backup who couldn’t warm up no matter how much time he spent at the heat lamps. Buck did get to play before the series was out, but it was too late, and the bunny got an early vacation.

That’s why almost immediately Buck went gym shopping. The rabbit had been plagued by injuries in recent years, most dramatically in 2010 when he collapsed during a Western Conference Championship game against the Dakota Bikers. But even that paled to the earthquake his career suffered when Julio Onca ripped open his side during a Montana match in 2007. Most people thought the bunny would never play again, but he had gotten help, hired a new training team, did what he had to do to build his body up and make himself the competitor he had always been. And when he stepped back onto that court at the beginning of the next season, many thought he had made himself even better. The injury in Dakota wasn’t as severe. Nor was the overextended knee he got playing the Spectrums. But the string of injuries made it clear to Buck. He needed another game-changing recovery. He needed a new training team.

That’s where CooperFitness came in. The gym had a sterling reputation for training athletes. The lobby was filled with photos of clients, a who’s-who of the most famous furry athletes in professional mixed-martial arts, weightlifting, speedskating, and a dozen other sports It was easy to see from the machines and the facilities that it was a gym for serious athletes, that no expense was spared in providing everything to build the strongest, fittest bodies in the furry world. It was perfect for Buck’s needs, except for one thing. They had never had an FBA client before.

That had been a deciding factor in 2007. Buck had looked at CooperFitness to handle his recovery, but eventually chose a more basketball-centered gym when he found the multi-sport facility too horizontally driven than his vertical game needed. But things were different now. Mr. Cooper had been stung by failing to close a deal with a superstar FBA athlete, and as the gym’s owner, he was determined not to lose another one. The gym had improved their leg strength facilities, ordered new equipment pushing flexibility over mass, even installed a basketball halfcourt. Mr. Cooper wanted an FBA star, and he was ready to do what it took to get the attention of the growing sports league. And he was rewarded when Buck Hopper came back, ready to sign a deal.

Perhaps the rabbit was a bit too rushed to let the ink dry, as it hadn’t come up before who would be his personal trainer at CooperFitness. Apparently that was a mistake as Buck glared up at the confused Semple, who just kept forcing a smile. Dario made a face, not liking this roadblock in what was supposed to be a very smooth and easy day of introductions, a touch worried he might have to tell Mr. Cooper that Buck backed out of the deal. “Semple has been spending the last year learning basketball training techniques, and I thought that being a kangaroo would be a positive thing,” he said, holding back the growl trying to come out.

“Well, you thought wrong,” Buck snapped back up at the gryphon. Despite being the shortest among the three, he spoke with the same sharp arrogance he always did. It was his money that was being spent, after all. “I just watched that prick Malone get back to the finals, and now you’re sticking me with his oversized cousin?”

It had been bad enough to watch the playoffs go by without being in them. Watching Ryan Malone, the kangaroo shooting guard for the Dakota Bikers, make it all the way to the finals—again—made it nearly unbearable. Buck hated Malone. The tall roo from Lansing, Michigan was one of the most electric players in the league, dazzling fans with the same high-energy, high-flying playing style Buck had built his career on. Sharing the Western Conference, they had faced each other again and again in their careers, with reporters comparing the two. And it sickened Buck. To him, there was no comparison. Buck had arrived on a weak, demoralized team and built them up from the ashes to a stunning finals victory. The Bikers had been a bully for years, never missing the playoffs, going to the Finals again and again so that Malone already had two rings and almost got a third. And it was that hardware that always tipped the scales in the kangaroo’s favor, giving him the analysts’ title of the best player in the West.

And that’s why Buck glared up at Semple. He had the same golden fur, the same powerful legs and giant feet, even had the same kangaroo musk smell Buck had learned to hate when he defended Malone on the court. And to make it worse, Semple was even taller and bigger than Malone, a towering brute of a kangaroo, almost as if some sick experiment had made an enhanced version of Buck’s nemesis. Buck snorted and shook his head. There was no way this was going to work. “Well, get me someone else,” he told Dario.

Dario tried not to glare. Too much. He folded his big arms and looked back at the snapping little bunny. “Semple has invested a lot of time and training into providing the best possible service for you, Mr. Hopper. I think you should try—”

“You got no one?” Buck interrupted.

Dario didn’t answer that. He didn’t want to.

Buck shook his head. “Well, then tell your boss deal’s off,” he snapped, shouldering his gym bag and turning on his feet. Dario seethed, his muscles flexing with frustration. He wasn’t used to things not going his way. Semple watched dimly at all the attitude spilled out in front of him. He saw Dario’s reaction, though, and knew if he didn’t do something then, the gryphon would just make things worse.

“Roight, wull, ya steel get ta use the ma-shines if y’want, mate,” he barked in a voice that was equal parts helpful and desperate. And all of it hopelessly thickened by his Australian accent.

Buck stopped, long ears lifting. He turned to look over his shoulder. “What?” he asks, eyes genuinely confused.

Semple blinked. “Ah, wull—jus sighin’ if ya like whut we got here, it’s all fair dinkum if ya jus want tah work out.” That tooth-grinding smile returned as he tried to judge Buck’s response.

Buck wrinkled his nose. He looked back at Dario, then up at Semple. “Is that how you talk?”

Semple tilted his head. “Uh. Yeah?”

Buck looked away. After a beat, he gave a little snort, shrugged, then walked past Semple and into the gym. “Deal’s back on, Dario.”

Semple grinned ear-to-ear as he watched Buck pass, then shot the same smile to Dario. His chest swelled with hope he’d be recognized for having saved the deal. Somehow. Dario just watched, dumb-founded. “Everything’s all right, then?” he called to Buck.

“Yeah,” Buck said over his shoulder. He smiled as he found every connection his mind had drawn between his trainer and Malone split by Semple’s voice. While the big roo might resemble Malone, he didn’t have anything like the flat, Upper Midwest accent Malone used when he taunted the bunny. And there was another thing.

“I can’t be mad at someone I can’t understand,” the bunny added.

---

I love the furry fandom. I don't recall exactly how I first found  nexus, but somewhere on FA our paths crossed. I dug the idea of a super athletic kangaroo-- folds in nicely with my whole FBA thing-- so I reached out and checked out his gallery. And I found that not only was his artwork is amazing-- which it is, you should totally check it out, it's incredible stuff-- but he had created a whole furry world built around a pro-caliber fitness center. I was very intrigued and read up on what he had made, loving every detail that I found. So I asked him if we could fold our creations together.

Early on in the FBA, this was something I loved doing. I loved building up the FBA not just by asking people to contribute but by finding things that other furs had made and bringing it into the FBA universe.  lilifox's Cheeto Wolfote was a fully established character independent of the FBA before I asked her if she would let me bring him in. She did, and he's been part of the FBA fabric ever since. And it thrilled me at the opportunity to do that same thing and bring another fur's work into this universe.  nexus was very cooperative. I had the idea of B-Hop seeking out a new fitness program after his poor performance in the past season, and  nexus gave me all the details I needed to make my FBA star into a new client at CooperFitness, including having his character Semple become B-Hop's new personal trainer. I loved the idea of a kangaroo being Hopper's trainer after we'd already established how much the bunny hates Ryan Malone. And with just that little bit of help, the FBA world got that much bigger and more interesting. Huge thanks to you,  nexus! And I'm looking forward to bringing more of our worlds together!

Around the same time that I found out about CooperFitness, I got watched by the very talented artist  lizzimba. I don't know what to say-- I just love his stuff. The artwork is simple, there's not a lot of detail, but what's there is just so dynamic and honest and FUN. I really don't know how to describe it all, all I know is that I love the way  lizzimba draws. After I commissioned a picture of B-Hop from him, I knew he'd be the perfect guy for a first pic between  nexus's Semple character and B-Hop. And  lizzimba did a stellar job. Thanks so much, big lion!!!

And this is why I love this fandom so much. Where else would I find so much talent, so much creativity, and so much willingness to collaborate? We rock harder than any other fandom out there. Don't let anyone tell you different. :)