In Savannaclaw, Leona's room....

The pieces on the chessboard were taunting Mara as she stared at bored. In the past, she would've had an intense death glare at the board as if they were her enemy.

Her golden eyes glanced back at the little notepad with all her written strategies and the attacks her opponent would use.

Leona's green eyes moved from the board to the cheetah. He remembered the variety of habits she developed from playing chess. Like how she would furrow her brows in concentration. Or how one of her ears flicked even if it was silent.

But after countless, frustrating losses, it seemed her motivation or even her care about playing chess had diminished. He watched her stare at the notepad before glancing back at the board and made a move with one of her pawns.

While he loved seeing the cheetah get ticked off over losing to him in a board game, he wasn't sure if he liked this depressing mood of hers right now. There was no fire in her eyes, and her tail laid limp on the floor. She seemed defeated.

Suddenly, her eyes glanced at him, seemingly alert. "Hey, it's your turn, you know." She pointed out calmly, causing his ears to perk. He must have been so focused on examining her current behavior that he didn't realize it was his turn.

"Yeah, I know. It's just a game. No biggie." He stated flatly, trying to play it off before moving one of his knights. However, he paused when his eyes caught something. If he put his knight on the original spot, Mara would have already lost this match once again. His green eyes scanned the board for a while, strategizing.

He wasn't sure why, but another look at her unmotivated self just didn't put him at ease. Leona wanted to see that fire in her eyes again. Anger. Irritation. Anything. Just not this sad, silence the cheetah emitted right now.

'I might regret this, but what do I have to lose to this?' He pondered before changing strategies and moving the piece to a different spot in Mara's view. "You know, if you quit moping and actually tried to think of a strategy, you might actually win." He suggested, keeping his tone nonchalant, but his eyes held some hope that she would at least try to play.

The cheetah looked at him briefly before following his suggestion and scanning the board. Her golden eyes went to the knight, and he just moved, and she was about to look somewhere else and make a random move. But that's when she saw it.

Frowning, her eyes squinted at an opening. A square left back with a lion shaped piece positioned on the next square. That was the king. Her eyes widened when she realized Leona somehow left his king open for the attack.

He could see her golden eyes growing huge. The corners of her mouth perked up. Mara felt a flicker of hope from inside her. Without a moment to waste, her hand plucked one of the pieces in an instant.

"Checkmate!"

Mara exclaimed triumphantly, knocking his king out of board and firmly setting her king onto its place.

"I did it! Haha! I finally beat you in chess! Take that, Leona Kingscholar! Haha!" The cheetah announced excitedly as she leaped up in the air, screaming in joy.

If anyone else was near the housewarden's bedroom, then they probably heard Mara scream and wonder what that's all about. While Leona was initially surprised, he couldn't find it in his heart to get bitter or mad about his defeat. The opposite. He may have lost the game, but there was something rewarding from his defeat.

Her smile.

That huge smile on her face and her laughter filling the once silent bedroom. Her tail wagged rapidly, kinda reminding him of Jack. Leona realized that he had never heard her laugh so genuine and happily. It made him think back to Cheka whenever the cub got happy. He never thought that one smile made you feel such things.

Mara began to calm down and took notice of Leona’s calm demeanor. He was staring up at her with a small smile. "Hey. Why so quiet? Isn't this the part where you get upset or say that I got lucky?" She asked, pushing back a piece of her hair that fell while she was jumping.

The lion shook his head casually at her before getting up. "Yeah. That would be my usual thing..." he began, glancing back at the board. His eyes were on the piece he positioned. The one that granted Mara her victory.

The cheetah looked in his direction and then back to him with a frown.
However, then she realized that there's no way he would lose to chess that easily. Glancing back at that piece, her brain started turning gears, and her golden eyes widened a little as she figured out his plan.

"Leona... did you...lose on purpose?" She asked, watching him walk away. "Me? Go easy on my rival? Not a chance, cheetah." He scoffed, keeping his back to her so she wouldn't see that small smile on his. "Man, you're weird." She commented but couldn't hold back the smile to see this thoughtful side of him. That or he got bored of her and wanted to make things exciting. Whichever the reason, Mara thought, at least she finally experienced victory. Although, next time, she would be determined to actually win without anyone going easy on her.