★★★ Last month, I hit the 500-watcher mark and held a journal raffle to commemorate the occasion with three winners to be picked. ★★★

★★★ Here is the second-place raffle prize: a full-coloured half-body drawing! ★★★

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A calm evening cascades over the lone, sizable ramen booth along an open path outside of some nearby villages. The sounds of boiling noodles and the aromas of plentiful meals were pleasing to Benji's senses. He had been training all day and was looking forward to consuming his platter before him. He was humbly enjoying his dinner for one.

But was he really alone?

A cream-coloured figure at a far end of the booth caught the corner of the ninja tiger's eye. Leona, clad in her trademark red tube top and bottoms, turned her head slightly towards Benji, smiling mysteriously at him. It was enough to make the tiger's cheeks faintly flush with a pink hue. He hadn't expected to be interacting like that with any girl tonight, and being caught off-guard at her subtle flirting embarrassed him slightly. But just as quickly, he composed himself and decided to humor this extra patron at the ramen bar, purring quietly as he winked back at her.

Intrigued, the kunoichi lioness slowly stood up and sauntered her way to him, eyeing him up and down. He seemed like quite a sweetheart and strong enough for his smaller stature. He didn't pose any threat of harm either.

They casually shared some small talk between each other, introducing one another and being playful with their words. Both furs gathered from each others' clothing that neither of them were from around anywhere near. Some giggling was had in-between noms as well.

Throughout the interaction, Leona decided to be a bit more playful as usual with those she somehow fancied in one way or another, be they friend or someone closer. She rested her elbows and forearms on the counter behind her as she slowly brought her tail tip upward, guiding it on its own right underneath Benji's chin. Ever so gently, she brushed her tail tuft under his chin, seeing how much more of a rise it'd get out of him.

But Benji was onto her flirty behaviour even when he didn't look at her tail directly, and he countered with some subtle movements of his own. Leona's ears twitched slightly at the sudden yet gentle feel of a soft tiger tail wrapping around her waist. Looks like she wasn't the only expert at tail-teasing! His suave behaviour impressed the lioness, and even as she kept on calmly tail-teasing Benji, she couldn't help but feel giddy inside. Whether it was his small stature or his pure, innocent demeanor coated with his fit body and confident attitude, something about his actions got her purring silently and blushing along with him. In fact, arguably, she was blushing even brighter than him.

Looks as though this chance encounter at the ramen shop under the calm evening sky proved interesting after all.

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Benji Hinata ©

Leona Mika ©

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Though Alex and I have had a nice rivalry in the past between his Benji and my Leo, it would seem that Alex has had an eye on my kunoichi lioness as well! So he inquired if his prize could involve pairing his tiger up with Leona. I figured it was a sweet idea, even if he wanted to seem to be the more prevalent fur at flirting; Leona's normally the one to make other guys' jaws drop. lmao Then again, it's been a while since I last drew her, and I'm a sucker for blushing regardless, so why not?

Of course I'm not sure what Benji's actual age is - remembering last time that he was an adolescent - so just to play things safe, I worked with the idea that he's in his late teens and old enough to flirt and such.

This was very enjoyable to draw! Had some trouble trying to draw female bodies again, but I gotta thank for providing me with some helpful tips here and there. And while I've never drawn tiger stripes before, turns out that it wasn't was as intimidating to tackle as I had first thought! Also in hindsight, I could've thrown in his headband and mask, but I wasn't sure if he needed either/or beforepaw, and he was okay with the idea to have such stuff off indoors anyway. lol

Very happy you love the drawing, my friend!

*****

TOOLS USED
Ugee UG-2150 21.5" Pen Graphics Tablet Monitor
Clip Studio Paint Pro (Version 1.7.4)