FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

--== Part 1 - Touch of the Warrior ==--

---====== Chapter 00 - Prologue ======---

Kila hopped through the densely webbed roots of the terrestrial mangrove, eager to meet up with her mate Revau; she had a sword and dagger strapped on each of her hips and a scroll in a quiver on her back. When she and her jysarian kin had arrived on the Isle of Ashoor, the opposing ciennic pack were already there and waiting for them in the arena glade, which meant that Revau must have left to wait for her at their secret cave hidden in the ravine beneath the roots. Every weekend, the two would precede the fights by spending some time alone, away from their respective teams where they would be able to act like themselves instead of the hardened warriors and combatants everyone else had seen them as.

Their retreat was a creation of their own, carved into the rock and dirt behind some hanging moss in the wall of the ravine. They had spent the previous year chipping away at it and hauling furniture and personal belongings there, despite how incredibly difficult it was to carry dressers and shelves over the tangled mess of terrestrial mangrove branches that blanketed the forest floor. The thick webbed roots inter-weaved with themselves and even formed a sort of roof over the ravine, which actually made the ravine look and feel more like a hall under the roots than a furrow in the dirt.

The location was perfect for them, because the coniferous trees between the terrestrial mangrove and the arena were itchy to most, and the haphazard roots of the terrestrial mangrove - named after the more common aquatic mangrove - emulated their namesake by tangling in and around each other in a complicated web of bark and wood just above ground that stabbed down into the dry soil below. Nobody bothered to navigate the area due to how difficult it was to traverse the intertwined roots, and often times the resulting soil was too dry and malnourished to farm on, meaning that virtually nobody had any reason to explore or investigate aside from Kila and Revau.

Which made it especially ironic that the Isle of Ashoor was such a hot spot for conflict and territorial disputes between Endra and Yelfrit. Due to the terrestrial mangrove and the thick density of the forest, the island had virtually no value aside from the pride that came from expressing dominion over it; yet that pride had driven both the jysarian tribes and ciennic packs to fight over the island for decades.

Endra was Kila's home, a mostly feline nation dominated by jysar and oaira to the north east; while Yelfrit was Revau's home, a mostly canine nation dominated by cien and a few saurossins to the south west. The Isle of Ashoor was nestled between the borders of both nations, flanked on either side by the very river that separated their countries and formed a natural, immovable barrier between them; that was, aside from the island that formed when the river forked then re-converged downstream.

Neither the Endarian tribes nor the Yelfritian packs wanted to concede the island despite its inherent flaws and utter lack of value to either race, but one good thing that came from the territorial pissing contest was that they had slowly morphed their conflicts into something a bit more productive. The fight for territory started as all wars do with armies clashing in bloody battles, but as time and far too many casualties had passed, the dispute had been distilled to a governed gladiatorial arena once a week, where the prize was the right to rule the island until a new champion was crowned.

Sure, the fights remained violent and occasionally fatal, but in time the conflict softened to one less about blood and more about pride. As decades and generations came and went, the Endarians and Yelfritians had gradually lost sight of the territorial element of war and had instead focused on the combat and (mostly) friendly competition. Sure, both races still had a deeply rooted territorial nature and the competitive spirit was fierce, but it wasn't a motivator for hatred or death; in time it actually pacified both nations by letting them be competitive without great loss. In truth, aside from the territorial disputes at Ashoor, the two nations were almost entirely amicable towards one another now.

But that didn't stop the arena fights from being exceptionally brutal. With the aid of healing mages, potion masters, and alchemists, fighters could be as violent and aggressive as they wanted without fear. Wounds could be sealed shut, lost limbs could be reattached, and even the most creative brutality could be counteracted; that is as long as the healers were quick enough, one's head wasn't severed from the shoulders, and the heart wasn't pierced.

If the mind, heart, and soul were intact, a person could be revived at the mere cost of some energy that could be replenished with fruit slices or a hearty drink. There were a few ways to win in one of the fights, with the most common being by mercy; a finishing move that was judged to be a withheld decapitation or piercing of the heart. The other ways to win was by knock-out, where one fighter was rendered unable to stand, or submission, where one fighter was put in such pain or was dominated so badly that they tapped out, giving up.

Both Kila and Revau were outstanding fighters on either side of the conflict, champions for their cause and both equally passionate, but they were not enemies. In fact, they had found solace and companionship where they were expected to dislike one another. Their mutual love for fighting brought them together, and their skill allowed a mutual respect that kept them close for a year before they came to where they were today, meeting under the mangrove web in the ravine.

"Rev!" She called as she vaulted over a particularly thick root near the base of one of the trees. She knew she was close to their spot because the ravine under the root-net had a tiny creek flowing through it, and she could hear the babbling nearby. Once she found the ravine, it was simply a matter of following the gem-based indicators carved and implanted into the trees lining the ravine. Ruby red meant that she was going the wrong way, emerald green meant she was going the right way. When she got in close to inspect the nearest trunk, she could see the tiniest of rubies lodged in the soft bark, so she turned to go the other way.

The roots were so thick she could barely see through them to the green banks of the ravine or the flowing water beneath, but they were so sturdy that she had no problem hopping from one of the mangrove roots to the next, elevated a half dozen meters above the running water.

Like a kitten, she bounded her way upstream over the roots, balancing with arms out and avian talons gripping the bark for stability. In time, she quickly came to see the tell-tale hanging moss that was dangling over the bank to cover the opening to their cave through a narrow opening in the mangrove web. She grabbed her swords, flattened them against her side, then hopped down between the roots, falling many meters down to land steady between the cave and the creek, long tail out for balance. Kila used her sword hilt to stab into the moss, pushing it to the side and poking her head inside, her pupils dilating to adjust to the darkness.

Inside, the cave was pretty simple. It was the size of perhaps one large den, with some things they had managed to sneak there from their native lands to give it a comforting, homely feel. There was a bed, a dresser, some unlit candles around the outside walls with a weapon rack and hanging pole for their clothes. The cave was actually up a meter or so from the water level, atop a slope rising from the creek to ensure that they wouldn't have it flood in the case of hard rain. However, because of the elevated nature of the inside, the roof had a thick web of roots tangled up within themselves, as well as a small chimney they had made of stones above their fireplace.

But no Revau.

"Oi, I know you're here, pup." She called as she stepped through the moss. His pack was already settled in at the Arena Glade, and he wasn't there with the rest of them so he must have been here. Of course, that made her think he was about to place an ambush as soon as she left through the hanging moss. She tiptoed towards the mouth of the cave, hand on one of her swords while she waited for his attack. A moment later, she heard a creak and a snap, followed by a thump and a growl of exasperation.

"Damn it." Revau grumbled before hopping down to land at the mouth of the cave, his shadow cast over the moss as he stood tall, though she could still seem him through the vegetation. His form was much larger than hers, almost a full meter taller with shoulders as wide as three of her. He wore his scale-plate gauntlets connected by leather straps over his chest and back, a simple loincloth keeping him modest. Before stepping into the cave, he chuckled to himself and acknowledged her by her pet name. "Hey there, Boops."

She drew her blade and used it to push the moss to the side as she poked her head through. She smirked, showing teeth as she rolled her eyes. "You know, you're never, ever going to sneak up on me. It's just not going to happen. You're a wolf, I'm both feline and avian, you might as well be trying to out-strike a snake." She patted his chest with the side of her blade before sheathing it and pouncing forth to peck him on the cheek. "So, stop embarrassing yourself." Her hand found his in the gauntlet and she tugged him in through the moss to join her in the cave.

"I'm not embarrassing myself, I'm working on my flaws. I'm sure if I ever met your parents that's the first thing they'd tell me to do." He followed her, then started to take his gauntlets off by undoing the latch on his chest. Like a jacket, he wiggled out of it and hung it on the weapon rack.

Kila did the same, by taking the belt that housed the blade sheaths off and hanging it next to his gauntlets. "Actually, I'm sure they'd try to kill you first, but then when they inevitably failed, they would respect you and tell you to focus on your strengths instead of paying too much attention to your weakness. Mother would wave a sword at you and make some joke about wasting time on negatives when you could be pure positive! So, don't worry about them, and worry about me." She pressed her chest up to his while up on her toes, palms laid on his abs; only a thin layer of a hide tank-top on her upper half. "So tell me, who's opinion matters most?"

He snarled and grinned, wrapping his large hand around her waist before picking her up, spinning her around, and roughly slamming her down on the bed. She wrapped her legs around her waist and locked her ankles above his tail, amber eyes staring into his. He licked her snout in a passionate kiss before making a joke. "For the pack!"

"Really? You're going with that?" She lightly pawed at his cheek as though she were faking a scratch, then pushed him off her with her talons, leaving him to flop down on the bed next to her. With a snap of her fingers, she was able to project some fire magic that ignited the candles on each of the desks and tables strewn around the room, lighting them all up. Her pupils narrowed as the room brightened, and she stared at the woven-root ceiling. However, she felt her gaze losing focus as she got serious with him. "So this is it. Our last fight. I wonder if anyone will pick up on our lead once we're done."

Revau rolled over onto his side and rest his head on his palm as he smiled down at her. "We've put a lot of work into this, and I know at least Elaria and Iteciu will carry on our legacy. They helped put this all together, so once we retire I'm sure they'll help to keep our style going." He leaned in close to nuzzle at her neck, gently nibbling at the fur there as he lightly rubbed her exposed belly, whispering into her ear. "Let's just worry about our performance and guide the next generation in our stead afterwards."

She couldn't help but purr against the warmth of his touch and the tickle of his breath behind her ear. The fur stood up on the back of her neck as she bared her sharp teeth, lips curled in a knowing smile. "You have the oddest moves for turning me on, and yet I can't resist." She flopped onto her side opposite him, mirroring his pose while she looked back at him, her long fluffy tail gently waving behind her. "So why am I getting the impression you're just trying to distract me from our battle? Is that your ploy, to trick me into lowering my guard?"

"Yep." He admitted, then grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto him as he laid on his back. "But oh no, look at what you've done! Somehow, she has turned the tide against me! The big nasty kitty has pinned the pup to the ground and now he is at her mercy! Oh, whatever shall she do?" He slapped his hands to his cheeks and faked a howl, like he was calling for back-up.

Kila gently tapped his nose and giggled. "Boop!" She squeaked, before grabbing at his chest fur and pulling herself down in close to gently nibble on his shoulder, neck, then up on his cheek while a deep purr started to rumble in her torso. When she got close to his ear, she bit the tip of it and licked the inner lobe, whispering, "Whatever she wants."

He leaned back into her nibbles and licks, a puppy whimper fluttering out of him. Such a sound would have him chased out of the pack if his mates heard him crooning like a whelp, but she coaxed it out of him every time with her intimate playfulness. "And what might that be? I'm literally dying to know." He slid his large hands down her sides, the difference in size between them becoming stunningly clear as his thumbs and fingers nearly touched 'round her toned belly.

Immediately, she sat up straight and flicked him on the nose. "No, you are not literally dying to do that. Don't use words you don't mean; you're a fighter, not a brute." She lectured him on grammar.

"But I'm your brute." He retorted with a whimper, scrunching up his snout. "And you knew I was-" He was about to protest, when he felt Kila shift down his body to rest against his loin cloth, grinding her hips against his bulge. Naturally, he squeezed at her hips and started to push up against the underside of her tail. "Well alright, punish me if you will."

She reached back around to lift his garment, exposing the bulge of his very excited member in his sheath accented by the pointed red tip that poked out the end of it. With a single glide of her finger up the underside of it followed by a squeeze and stroke back down, she was able to coax every bit of his length out, sans the knot that seemed stuck in the sheath, tied to his own flesh. She giggled a bit at him, always eager to poke fun when he got too excited too early. "I think that's punishment enough." She cooed, referring to the knot tied in his plump sheath. "Now come on, we don't have much time; the others will be waiting."

Her playful jabs did nothing to dissuade him, as he slipped his hand around her waist to prod a finger up under her tail; his thick digit found her moist lips with ease, so he gave it a gentle rub. "Well look who's just as eager as her pup. Glad to see you're ready for me, but are you truly ready?"

The deep rumbling purr intensified within her as she raised herself up off his belly to stand on her talons, squatting over him with palms on his bulky chest for balance. Clearly she was ready for him. Their time hidden in the ravine was short, so she knew that she needed to be quick with him, and she didn't need to take any precautions since their races were incompatible for cross breeding. She teased him for only a few seconds before gently leaning back into him, maw gaping in a drawn out moan of pleasure as she felt his girth slide into her. "Theeeere we go."

As always, he let her control the pace; their size disparity meant that if he got too aggressive he could hurt her, and while they had built their relationship on their friendly competition and lightly choreographed combat, he had no interest in harming her when sharing a moment of intimacy. That was a whole different form of violence that he had no desire to express. Instead, he laid on his back and kept his hands gripping tight around her waist as she descended upon him, resisting the urge to buck up all the while.

"Everything alright?" She asked, chest heaving as she whimpered and purred, lower jaw shaking in pleasure and the tiniest bit of pain caused by the light bounces she offered him. The girth of his member was well beyond what either of her parent races were bred to handle, and his knot only got used when she was in an aggressive mood, she felt like rewarding him and the proper healing preparations had been taken.

Revau slowly nodded as he pushed her down against his member, easing her onto his bulging shaft until her inner thighs rest on the plump flesh of his sheath and the knot that was swelling within it. "You seem awfully tight today, more so than usual." He complimented, though to him, she was always tight.

"Well I am a little tense." Kila admitted, then leaned down to lay flat on his chest. She rest her ear on him, the steady throb of his heartbeat a calming rhythm that matched the twitches of his cock she felt deep within her. "I was hoping you could loosen me up a bit before the fight."

"I can do that." He let go of her hips and wrapped his arms around her tiny body, holding her close to his heart as he pushed himself as deep into her as he would go. When she winced, he instantly paused, but he carried on when she nodded in approval, urging him not to stop. "Just let me know if I hurt you, okay?"

In spite of them having been together for a year, he still was too big for her on most days, which made the times they got to share in intimacy all the more special. They could rarely see one another when not preparing for a fight as most of their lives kept them apart in their own villages, so it wasn't like they had a lot of time to get used to each others' equipment. But they could cuddle as much as they wanted, something they both loved despite their hardened personas!

All that would change after they retired.

But in the mean time, Revau found that he couldn't keep firm. His bulging red member was throbbing in Kila, but it was growing soft long before he finished, mostly since his mind kept returning to the impending sparring match they were scheduled for. Usually, he was eager to mate, but today he just wanted to cuddle. Such a mood wasn't uncommon for her, but for him it was rare.

"Are you sure everything's alright?" She asked again, pulling away to look him in the eyes. "I know you're not done already."

He pulled his hips away, slowly leaving her depths as his sheath swallowed up his length and kissed her nether lips. With one bashful motion, he covered himself with the loin cloth, effectively putting an end to their brief tryst. He gave her a brick lick on the cheek, then wrapped his arms around her in a strong hug. "I'm just thinking about everything that led to this, what comes next, and...you know, life together. I never thought I'd say this, but I'm really not in the mood. Let's cuddle for now, okay? We have less than an hour before we have to return to the arena."

She hastily tucked her own hide skirt down between them to cover her loins as she laid down on his chest, using him as a bed. She brought her rear talons up to rest on his inner thighs, claws tickling him as she purred. Deep down inside she wanted to joke, to lightly poke fun at him as she often did, but she couldn't bring herself to do so. Instead, she just kept purring as he stroked her head and neck, tail resting between his legs to wrap around his ankle. "I am okay with this."

In the final hour before their final fight together, they took a moment to reminisce over the year leading up to that point, starting with their very first encounter.

---====== Chapter 01 - The Year Before ======---

"You will only get one shot at glory, my kin! Make it count, and let's take down these pitiful pups!" Iteciu spat as she stood tall with blade raised to the sky. She was on a boulder that was perfectly shaped for giving speeches, addressing Kila and Tavi with her back to their opponents on the opposite side of the glade. She was a wielder of a round shield and a thick but short blade, leading Kila and Tavi both into bloody battle against three ciennic fighters.

Kila was backed by hundreds of her friends, family members, and allies on the northeast edge of the Arena Glade, with the excitement of her heart pumping, cool adrenaline flowing, and the warmth of ademane tingling in her fingers to spur her on. She was about to sink her blade into a ciennic warrior for the first time, and she couldn't have been more eager for it if she was rewarded with a thousand claw-massages upon her victory. The feline-avian hybrid had been been watching the matches on the Isle of Ashoor for years as a kitten, and now that she was old enough to fight alongside her heroes, she was quick to sign up and lay her blades to the cause of the tribe.

Her proximity to the Iteciu the Holy Blade made her more nervous than the prospect of being run through by a sword.

This weekend's fights had been quite explosive so far. The opening bout saw the oarian Kindaven fall to the cien's blade-dancer known as Otangi in a particularly brutal display of razor sharp moves and wit. The Yelfritians had taken the first round, but now it was Kila and her team's job to bring pride to the Endarians by beating the best three fighters that the Yelfritians could feed to them. After the team fight would be a one on one fight between the current champion Andyr of the Yelfritians and the challenger Gemallo of the Endarians.

At the end of every week, the jysar and oaria of Kila's tribe from Endra would hop onto a dozen boats to meet an equal number of cien and saurossins from the packs of Yelfrit on the Isle of Ashoor, where they would prepare for brutal gladiatorial combat over the three day weekend. The first day of the weekend was dedicated to preparation, trash talk, and faux civility wherein both parties would suffer cohabitation on opposite sides of the island, always on the verge of a fight. The second day of the weekend was when the fighting happened, often with three to five matches culminating in a one-on-one bout that would determine the holders of the territory for the following week. The third and final day of the weekend had the victors of that final bout exiling the losing team to their homeland, followed by an intense victory celebration with food, passion, and pampering for the fighters who participated amidst a party with all the best things that made a party fun.

Kila held a sword in one hand and a dagger in the other, with only a simple hide and leather battle skirt and tank top covering her body. The time she had spent training and preparing herself for this fight over the previous months had her focusing almost entirely on offense, and she was incredibly quick so that was what she would use for her style. However, she had a long way to go before she knew what worked, since all of her skills at this point were practiced against dummies and friends who didn't want to run her through with a blade. She was ready to attack and dodge, but she wasn't prepared to be stabbed.

The leader of the three-person team on the side of the Endarian tribe was a white and peach colored feline named Iteciu Morin, an older fighter who specialized in a holy warrior style with a short blade and shield. She also had healing abilities that she mostly used for herself, and was a proud warrior who had been participating in the territorial disputes for as long as Kila had been watching them. Kila looked up to her as a hero, and aimed to emulate her success in the Arena Glade.

When the time came to ask Iteciu for a spot on the team, Kila made a fool of herself by stumbling over her words and running away, embarrassed. Luckily, her friend Tavi managed to convince Iteciu to let Kila on the team, even though there was quite a bit of doubt in her resolve due to Kila's inexperience. Eventually, Iteciu allowed Kila to join the team, but warned that glory was only in victory, and failure would be met with indifference.

Tavi and Kila had been friends for many years, through their kitten-hood and adolescence to the day when Kila matured and joined the arena. Tavi, a mostly black feline with light gray and white speckling over his upper body and arms, was a few years older than Kila and had been fighting in the Arena Glade for almost a year, proving himself as a wonderful mage in the process. Though talented, he didn't really specialize in one-on-one fights, nor did he ever compete for the territorial championship since his skill set was better for group battles, since he could heal and support others well but wasn't much for winning on his own since his bo-staff wasn't good for killing blows.

All three stood on their side of the glade, with hundreds of other jysarian and oarian onlookers cheering them on. Iteciu with her sword and shield; Tavi with his bo-staff, and Kila with her twin blades. The time was nigh, and now she had to focus on the enemy, ignoring the rest of Iteciu's uplifting speech to her two companions. For a brief moment, all she could focus on was the cool tingling in her body brought on by a mix of ademane and adrenaline.

Opposing them were three fighters that Kila knew well. The leader of their group was an utterly massive and scary-looking black and gray bitch named Elaria Orin. She, like Oteciu, was very experienced in combat and came equipped with a massive shield and equally intimidating sword that was as long as Kila was tall. In the past, she had held the territory for the Yelfritians for months before losing it to Kanjei, the battle mage of the Endarian Capitol. He was a guest fighter, since the capitol was usually too busy with real politics to get involved with the small-scale battles at the Isle of Ashoor.

After losing the title, Elaria had been commanding teams in exhibition fights and coaching whelps on the side, utilizing her talents and submitting herself to the betterment of their pack's future. At least that's what Kila had heard, she hadn't ever stepped foot on the other side of the river to see what the cien did in Yelfrit when not participating in arena battles.

Flanked on either side of Elaria was Saido Atuzei and Revau Irfan. Saido was that team's healer and support, brandishing another huge shield to protect himself when he was casting his powerful elemental magics as well as a short sword. Revau was an equally brutish beast of a wolf, towering taller than any of the Endarian fighters but smaller than Elaria. Unlike his pack leader and support fighter, he wore scale-plate arm length gauntlets that were strapped on via leather that covered his chest and back. He had no weapons or armor aside from the gauntlets, but his speed and power blended with his hand to hand combat skills to make him a formidable foe.

He had also spent many months in prior battles and rarely lost. He had been primed for a spot in the territory battle, but had instead opted to remain fighting in the team battles and exhibition matches. Kila hadn't known for sure if he was simply humble or if he made a habit of humiliating others with his refusal to ascend, until he sought her out prior to their fight while she was sharpening her blade just so he could condescendingly wish her luck.

His fake politeness angered her greatly, encouraging her to make her sword and dagger extra sharp, just for him. He was the only one on his team without defenses, so he'd be a great target to take down, and if she did it she would be gifted all the claw-massages that her people could offer. That was her goal, to take him out. Winning was secondary.

Now that she was standing opposite the Arena Glade of him and the hundreds of cien cheering him on, she was actually growing nervous. All three of their fighters were immensely skilled, had experience fighting before, and had won many of their battles. Kila's teammates Oteciu and Tavi both were equally skilled, but she was the odd one out with little experience beyond childhood sparring and some practice throwing daggers.

Kila was certainly talented with many blades, but she was not experienced in a real fight where the threat of being stabbed with a sword was a very real possibility. Sure, there were mages, alchemists, and other healers ready for her in the event of her falling in battle, but the pain was still there. Having a blade in her body hurt regardless of its long-term effects.

"FOR THE TRIBE!" Oteciu screeched as she pumped her fist up into the air, angling her blade into a streak of sunlight that had managed to stab through the canopy, reflecting it back to the crowd of onlookers.

Every one of Kila's people chanted back in unison, "For Endra!" while Kila flattened her ears to the back of her skull, eyes lowering to the ground before her. The closer it came to the fight, the more nervous she grew.

From either side of the neutral zone where neither Endarians nor Yelfritians stood, two saurossin mages raised their hands to the sky and launched balls of fire above the treetops, bursting them in unison as embers and ash rained on the Arena Glade. Singling that the fight was to start.

The time for reflection was over; the time to prove oneself had come.

"For the skies above, the sea below, and the land we live on, we fight!" Iteciu called out in a quieter tone than before, turning and pointing her sword toward the ciennic opponents as though she were commanding a whole army into battle.

Kila gripped the hilt of her sword tight, her talons digging into the dirt as her breathing slowed. She was trying her best to steal a brief moment of meditation before glancing over to Tavi, waiting for the next move. Their eyes locked and Tavi nodded his approval, a subtle smile forming on his lips that said he was proud of her, but then he guided her attention to the cien that were slowly moving forward across the glade.

In response, Kila nodded and bolted forward, eager to get this battle started!

"Kila, no!" Tavi called out, trying to stop her from making and bold moves. "Get back here!"

But Kila wasn't stupid. The aggressive style she had adapted to was best utilized with a hint of chaos, which she would use to confuse, distract, and entice the opponents to underestimate her. If she was going to throw them off balance, she needed to make them think that taking her out was going to be a breeze before dancing circles around them. An uncommon strategy, but a bit of a chaos gambit that may or may not pay off. She kept low with her tail out behind her as her two teammates chased after her, literally bounding headfirst into battle.

The canines saw this and started trotting forward with their shields raised and ready to defend, heads poking out beyond the rim. The two teams made their way to the middle of the Arena Glade, with Kila leading her tribe.

When she got close enough, she saw the telltale teal glow emanating from behind Saido's shield that told her a spell was coming. Before any effects were taken, she leapt high into the air with her blade up raised over her head in a double hand smash that slammed down and got the sword stuck in the wood of Elaria's shield. Beneath her, an explosion of dust and rocks erupted upwards, a concussive blast that must have come from Saido. She kicked off the shield and back-flipped away, twisting in the air and landing on her feet.

As she turned, she saw Elaria baring down at her, charging forth like an angry cranicephalon with shield prepared to bash. Kila pivoted in the dirt, dove in and dodged a swinging blade coming from behind the shield, then ricocheted off the shield to flip over Saido, landing on the ground between their tails and Revau.

For a brief moment, Kila thought that she had certainly done something very stupid, but then she realized that Saido and Elaria were still facing towards the other two fighters from Kila's tribe, and were too preoccupied with Tavi and Iteciu to worry about the one they must have perceived as brash and stupid.

"You're new." Revau observed. "New style, new face. I like it, but did I see you yesterday? Oh, right, you were sharpening your blade! Too bad you won't get to use it!" He grinned and lunged forward, paw balled up into a fist as he swung heavily for Kila's chest.

Her superior reflexes and speed came to her aid, and she dodged out of the way of his swing with an easy roll that had her facing off against him with blade up and dagger down. "New, but not weak!"

Revau stood tall and stepped around her, circling with his golden eyes trained on Kila's smaller form while he flexed his muscles and balled his fists up. He was measuring her and preparing for a fist fight, and since he was so much bigger than she was he seemed confident enough to not maintain a combat pose. "True, true. Well, we shall see what you've got!" He lunged forward with two swings a hammer-fall strike, then an uppercut - all of which Kila danced around to easily avoid.

She countered with a swing and a stab, treating her long blade like a rapier with the dagger in the other hand. Her form stood tall on her avian talons, balancing delicately as she lunged and downward slashed. He responded by stepping back and waving his fist between her blows with stunning grace, like he was teasing her. Then, when she went in for a stab at his chest right where the gauntlets ended and his chest was bulging, he grabbed her blade tight and held her in place with the point near his flesh. Kila attempted to pull away and retrieve her sword, but every motion just made a terrible screech of her blade on the metal of his gauntlets.

"I see, I see. Well, I can already tell you want to confuse me with your moves, but it won't work." He taunted, flexing his muscles and pulling her in closer, stabbing the blade a half centimeter into his own chest. "And now you're within grabbing range."

"Not yet!" She declared as she yanked at her sword with all her might, only to have him let go and chuckle as she stumbled back and nearly lost her footing. When she got back up, he was already leaning in to attack her with his power, swinging left and right, mixing in jabs and uppercuts for flavor; his motions were fluid, but the more he struck, the clearer it was that he wasn't actually trying to hit her. He was pulling his punches, but was simply restricting Kila's ability to get in an attack on him due to the flurry of motions.

She pivoted and danced from side to side, blade always up and ready to take the first opportunity to land a blow. Revau's form was massive compared to hers, and she knew how important it was to not be hit by his fists; she knew that she had better reflexes and more stamina than him, but he was nearly matching her pace and the gauntlets covered enough of his body that he could block and deflect any attack she offered him with relative ease. It was going to be harder to land a blow than she originally expected. No matter, she was good at adapting to a new style!

In a brief moment of clarity between dodges, she jumped up high over his head and stabbed her blade down on him, hoping to penetrate past his collar bone. To block, he crossed his wrists over his head and pushed back, launching her back into the air and forcing her into a back flip. While she was in the air, she threw her dagger at him and watched with glee as it stabbed into his shoulder just above the end of the gauntlets, the same place she was aiming for with her sword.

Kila landed on her feet and vaulted back into him, sliding past his punch to grab the dagger's handle mid lunge, slicing up and opening a gash past his shoulder muscles. Again, she landed back on her feet behind him and she pivoted to sink the blade into is back, but then she got distracted by the two on two skirmish of her teammates and his.

She saw that Elaria had shield-bashed Tavi to knock him off balance, reaching in to sqing her large blade into him. He responded by using his bo-staff to kick back up and block the blow, using her momentum to spin the staff and slam her from the side, while also throwing a concussive spell towards Iteciu and Saido to disrupt them. But in that moment of distraction, Elaria back-handed smacked him with the shield so hard that she'd knocked him off his feet and onto his back.

All that happened in a matter of about two seconds, and seeing a feline off his feet was cause to be alarmed, so Kila dashed past Revau while slicing his upper thigh from behind on her way past, eager to help out her companion while also weakening him. She'd already got the better of Revau, she'd come back to finish him off in a moment.

Before any others could reach her, Elaria leapt forward and brought the edge of the shield down on Tavi's throat with all her might, stopping just inches away.

Immediately, the powerful sound of crackling fire on the side of the arena went off into the sky above them, and one of the saurossin judges called out to announce the victory. "Tavi Shous has been eliminated!"

In response, Tavi nodded and rolled to his feet. Elaria had gotten a mercy kill, and he wasn't the type to be a sore loser. She could have clearly killed him even if he raised the bo-staff to defend, so there was no question it was a mercy kill; he was done and he knew it. With grace and dignity, he hobbled away off the field towards the healers with a noticeable limp..

But that meant that it was Kila and Iteciu against three powerful ciennic warriors. Not the best odds.

Mid dash, Kila redirected herself away from Elaria to join up with the fight against Saido, temporarily making it two on one while Revau regained his composure and Elaria reveled in her short-lived victory.

Iteciu was matching Saido's moves perfectly, blocking blasts of ice with her shield and throwing her own magics back at him. However, he didn't see or hear Kila coming from behind until it was too late. She leapt through the air with dagger extended; he tried to turn and block her with the shield, but she was already too close, and she managed to wrap her hand around his neck with the blade to his throat.

Only a split second passed with him attempting and failing to grab her and toss her off, but the roaring blast of fire echoed into the sky and the announcer called out another victory. "Saido Atuzei has been eliminated!"

Saidu growled and grabbed Kila by the shoulders, throwing her down on the ground as he huffed and kicked dirt on his way out of the arena. He didn't need the healers, since no wounds had been inflicted, but that didn't stop him from joining up with Tavi in the infirmary quadrant, growling in anger.

Now, it was Iteciu and Kila against Elaria and Revau, with the two teams once again squaring off in he middle of the arena glade. Both jysar and cien bystanders were cheering their teams on, as Revau limped forward and stood tall next to his alpha, placing his bloody gauntlet-equipped hand on her shoulder. Before Kila's eyes, his wounds healed and closed up, the bleeding halted.

"Take my lead, Kila." Iteciu advised, then got back into a prepared battle stance. "And don't do anything stupid to get yourself eliminated; I don't think I can take these savages on myself and Tavi's gone already so my support is weakened"

Kila scoffed a bit. "Nothing I do is stupid. Chaotic, but not stupid." She stood tall with her blade pointed directly towards Revau, her dagger resting on her wrist. "And I want to take him out. Deal?"

Iteciu raised an eyebrow. "And why do you want to take Revau out? You know he has rarely lost, right?"

"I know, but he disrespected me before the fight, and I want him for myself. He will feel the cold of my blade." She growled deeply, her chest rumbling against the flowing warmth of adrenaline and ademane in her body. She and Iteciu both were standing shoulder to shoulder, with Iteciu noticeably taller than she was and better equipped for defense. Kila needed to do something to put an end to the fight quickly if she stood a chance of besting Elaria and Revau both. When they met in the middle of the glade, Revau immediately lunged towards Iteciu, swinging wildly with his claws slamming heavily into her shield. In return, she spun and stabbed for his torso, only to have him grab the blade and use his palm to knock it out of her hand. When he leaned in to strike at her exposed body, she ducked and lifted her shield to block him, deflecting his blow and leaving him off-balance. She then heaved forward to smack him in the snout with all her might.

Meanwhile, Kila had rolled under an attack from Elaria, slicing at the canine's outer thigh on her way to her own feet. Behind the towering opponent, she spun and went to stab but was caught off guard by a wide swinging shield that hit her directly in the face and knocked her a half dozen meters back to land on her tail end far away from the skirmish. She shook herself of the lightly dancing lights that descended from the edges of her peripheral to see Iteciu slamming Revau with her shield, then turning to confront Elaria while Revau landed a few meters away.

The last two standing fought fiercely, shield to shield, blade to blade, as they danced around each other. Revau and Kila both were on their rumps many meters away, watching the shield maidens, but Revau was notably closer. Both got up and went to help out the team leaders, but were too far away to impact the outcome of their brief skirmish.

In a stroke of genius, Iteciu leapt up in a backflip, smashing her shield down on the back of Elaria's skull as she landed behind her. With a kick, Elaria's massive body was felled to flop on her belly, and before she could get up, Iteciu drove a knee into the small of her back while grabbing her shield to twist her arm back with a sickening series of cracks and a howl of intense pain. Then, while still holding onto the shield, she drove her blade to the back of Elaria's neck, pressing just hard enough to draw the slightest bit of blood.

A roaring blast of fire erupted, and one of the saurossin announcers called out, "Elaria Orin has been eliminated!"

She growled loudly, but slid her broken arm out of the sheild's leathers and stumbled to her feet towards the healers. Her time was done, but that didn't mean she had to like it. She barely got out of the way as the next stand-off came.

But the fight went on. Now close enough, Revau dove over his fallen comrade with fists balled up, grabbing Elaria's blade on the way out to slam heavily into Iteciu. His gauntlets were powerful enough, but once he grabbed that blade he seemed a true threat even to Iteciu! He swung and stabbed quickly, burying the blade deep enough in the shield to split it down the middle and open a gash in Iteciu's shoulder. When he pulled away, a spurt of blood erupted from her neck and stained her cheek, temporarily blinding her so that Revau could spin and side-slash at her, halting his blade just inches from her neck.

"Iteciu Morin has been Eliminated!" Another blast of fire erupted, mixing with the smoke from the prior blast.

Kila stopped in her tracks before making it to the skirmish, knowing it was down to her and Revau. Two blades versus two gauntlets, a first time fighter versus a seasoned veteran. The cheers of the crowd stopped as her people and his both hushed, watching with bated breath. He tossed his sword to the side, seemingly wishing to prove himself only with the weapons he came into the fight with.

In an act of defiance and dominance, she stood tall and let the tip of her sword touch the dirt, drawing a line for no discernible reason. Despite him being almost a full meter taller than her, she stood up to him with her chest puffed out and the idle bits of feathers throughout her body standing on end to posture against her opponent, clanging the dagger near the hilt of the sword. "So this is it. You and I, head to head with our allies crippled and sent to the healing ward. So, still think I need luck, now?" She hissed at him, calling back to the brief moment he took to insult her before the fight.

"Clearly not! Quite impressive, especially for a newcomer. I respect that." He crossed his hand over his chest and bowed, eyes remaining trained on Kila. "But now, it is time to end this. Lets fight." He dashed forward with a fist raised and prepared to connect with Kila's body. His other arm was curled over his chest for defense against the blade he knew would be coming for his exposed torso.

But Kila had formulated a very quick plan. She sheathed her sword and readied her dagger, jamming it in between two of he plates of his gauntlets to stab above his elbow. She ducked, weaved, and dodged away from him as she ended up behind his body, unsheathing her sword again. As he spun, he tried to backhand her, but winced in pain and felt to a knee as the dagger plunged into his elbow through the plates of the gauntlets. Simply moving inside them drove the tip of the blade deeper. She took a quick hop and roundhouse kicked him in the head, bringing him down to his second knee.

She stood tall and brought a blade up, but when she went to run it through his torso, he grabbed the blade with his free hand and redirected her momentum, grabbing the sword out of her paw. With her close and off balance, he tried to reach for her throat, but the blade that was lodged in his gauntlets drew another thick gush of dark red blood that trickled out the metal of his fingertips, the pain proving to be too much to overcome even for a seasoned fighter.

Kila could see she had the upper hand, so she hopped over his shoulder, grabbing the dagger as she rolled and spun around to plant the blade in his lower back. Only now that he no longer had the blade hindering his arm's movement or the mobility under his gauntlets, he was able to spin and clash the metal of dagger on sword, grabbing for her throat. Before he could get the kill, she slammed her dagger up to his throat, piercing flesh but halting before she severed any major arteries.

The resulting eruption of flame and smoke nearly made her twitch and cut something important.

"Revau Irfan has been eliminated! We present to you, the sole survivor from the Endarian team, Kilaaaaa!"

Her chest was heaving and her body was cold with adrenaline; her lower jaw quivered as she slowly pulled away. With him on his knees, he was still taller than her and he was covered in blood, some dripping off each finger of his one hand, some flowing over his chest from the wound she put in his throat, and some dried mess over his thigh. While still high on the rush of winning, she turned to find her blade off the ground, picking it up and raising it to the sky. Immediately, she got a chorus of cheers from her side and boos from the other.

Slowly, a grin spread across her face to show her sharp teeth, a deep purring bubbling up within her. She didn't know how to feel about this, whether she be relieved, proud, or cocky, but she did know she had every reason to be happy right now.

Before her, Revau slowly got to his feet, nodding and bowing towards her, stumbling as he nearly lost his balance. "Very good, Kila. You earned this." He extended his non-bloody hand to her, offering to shake a paw in respect.

Kila sheathed her blades and reluctantly accepted his hand, shaking gently to show humility. Since she couldn't think of any one thing to say, she just nodded, then quickly turned back to her people to cheer with them. Some of her friends and even her fallen allies came out to congratulate her, patting her on the back and offering the gentlest of nuzzling in against her chest. She got lost in the shuffle, happy to gloat about her accomplishment; though she was on her first fight, she still had won in a three on three fight, besting the one who had disrespected her and coming out on top where even her hero and the vicious bitch Elaria had fallen. She couldn't have swollen her ego any more had she just won the island for her people.

She did it, in front of her hero. She won where two seasoned veterans had failed.

A smile curled at her lips and didn't let go as she disappeared out the back of the crowd to celebrate on her own.

---====== Chapter 02 - Celebration of the Victor ======--

After the fight, she found that she couldn't stop moving; the energy kept flowing through her and she was as hyperactive as if she had just consumed a dozen chocolate colored buzz beans. The only way she could release the energy was to pace, so she paced. Kila and Tavi both had left the scene of the arena to go to their place on the banks of the river north of where they landed. She was occupying herself and releasing energy as Tavi sat cross-legged on a log, tossing rocks out into the river.

"I did it! I did it! Did you see that I did it! I won, where The Holy Blade Iteciu failed, I did it!" The broad toothy grin stayed plastered on her face, the muscles in her cheeks cramping up from how happy she was. "I saw it, everyone saw it, did you see it? Iteciu saw it, that was for sure!" She paused to squeal a bit, remembering that she won, where her own idol Iteciu had failed.

She just couldn't get over that fact, and it made her giddy to repeat it to herself and to her friend.

Tavi groaned a bit, still in pain from his elimination during the fight. He wasn't injured and had required minimal healing aid, but he was still sore. "Yes, Kila, we all saw it. Good for you, by the way. We're all very proud of you, seriously, but what comes next? Will you fight again? Apply for the territorial bout?"

She paused and shook her head. "I really don't know, to be honest. I hadn't thought that far." The final fight of the day - the championship territorial battle - was likely happening right this moment, but Kila didn't care about that. She was too high on her own pride to care about silly fights over land. She just wanted to enjoy herself and bask in the glory of victory. "Sure, maybe they'll let me fight for the island, I'd take it. Ashoor needs a fighter like me to defend it against those smelly whelps."

"They're not that smelly, Kila." Tavi corrected her. "They just live a slightly earthier existence. At least they don't smell like droppings, like some of the pets you like to keep."

"Shut up, Tavi. You smell like the underside of an Archoet's tail." She paused to laugh at her own joke, then fell onto her back on the soft rocks of the shore, tail flicking between her avian talons near the gently waving surf of the river. A thousand thoughts were swirling in her mind, creating a storm of emotion and giddy sensations in her body. She twitched and squealed in delight, rolling onto her side while still giggling a bit. "Tavi, do you know what I've done today? Did you see?" She crawled on her hands and knees, coming to crouch down on her rump, giddy like a kitten.

Tavi tried to be stern for her, but just couldn't help himself from sharing in her energy and enthusiasm. He grabbed his bo-staff and used the blunt end of it to push her over. "Yes, for the hundredth time, yes. We all saw. We're all impressed. May the skies shine bright upon your many accomplishments in and out of the arena. May the gods bless your family." Though he did find her a bit boastful, he didn't want to douse the flames of passion she had.

"You saw, but did you feel it? Do you know how rare it is for any first timer to win their first fights? Do you realize how uncommon it is that a newcomer even survives a group match? I didn't break any records, but I'm one for one, and I managed to get the killing blow on two of them, INCLUDING the one that eliminated you. You've been doing this for almost a year and I won!" She realized how insensitive she was being, so she lowered her head and averted her eyes. "Not that you didn't fight well. I apologize." Her condolences were sincere but that didn't stop her from struggling with her own dopey grin.

But Tavi shook his head. "No, no. Don't be ashamed of your skill. You earned your pride, but always remember that you're only on top of the world until your next fight. While I certainly am proud of you, I must caution that a single victory is just that. It may have been your first and nobody can ever take that away from you, but I hope you have a very long career ahead of you in the arena. I admit, I wasn't expecting you to win - especially given your chaotic and flashy style - but I'm honestly not surprised at your skill."

Kila was about to pounce him in a hug when she heard the sound of cracking and the snapping of twigs beyond the tree line. She grabbed her blade - just in case - and got to her feet, ready to face an adversary or jungle creature.

Out from the shadows came a tall, gray and brown canine with red patches on his neck, upper arm, and thigh. It was Revau, likely coming to worship at the feet of the one who had beat him.

In that brief moment, Kila couldn't help but gloat. Though she still felt a hot surge of rage about his disrespect before the fight, her win had all but washed that anger away, replacing it with casual arrogance. "Come to pay your respects, I hope!" She sneered as she sheathed her sword. Tavi, on the other paw, didn't seem to care much about the presence of Revau, but that didn't stop Kila from puffing out her chest feathers.

Revau smiled warmly and nodded, dropping to one knee with his fist on his chest; his motions were a little jerky, showing he was still sore from the fight. His response took her by surprise. "Actually, that's exactly why I am here. I talked to Kindaven after the fight and she said I could likely meet you at this spot. I want to offer my sincerest and humblest respect for your skills, if you would accept them."

Kila scoffed. "Respect from a loser? What would it mean to me?"

"Be respectful." Tavi warned, cautioning her in regards to her swelling pride.

"Oh, right, sorry." She rolled her eyes a bit, but couldn't stop smiling as she looked up and down the body of Revau. "But, you have to admit that was pretty smart, hindering your movement by jamming up your gauntlets. I mean, big guy like you, suddenly you can't move? Must have been a special kind of pain."

Revau nodded, still on one knee. "It truly was. I've fought many people, some bigger than you, some smaller. I've fought mages and knights, healers and archers, and I've never had anyone think to do such a thing, by using my weapons against me. For that, I applaud you." He shakily stood tall, his body towering over Kila's. "And it would be my honor to make you a home cooked meal."

Tavi's eyes went wide as he slid off the log and raised his hands as if he were surrendering. "Well, I'm out of here. You two have fun." He disappeared into the same heavily overgrown path that Revau had sliced through to get to their location.

Kila, on the other hand, was mostly just baffled. "Why in the world would you do that? Do you think that just because I'm feline and avian, that I can't catch food for myself? I can hunt and cook for myself, thanks, I don't need a big bad wolf to make me anything to eat." She went to laugh at him, but when she stepped in close she could see that his facial expression was sincere. Her ears flattened to the back of her head and she narrowed her eyes. "You're serious, aren't you?"

He shrugged. "I don't see why not. Is there something wrong with a warrior wanting to show his respect for a fellow fighter? You bested me, I respect that, and I don't understand why you feel the need to be condescending about it. In my culture, it is customary to show signs of submission to the dominant, in this case I submit to your skills by offering to make you a meal. Does your culture not do such a thing??"

"Not to cien." She spat at him. "You mangy mutts are-"

"I'm going to stop you there. It seems you have a completely warped perception of this interaction we're having here. I could tell from the moment I wished you luck yesterday that you - almost as much as that eternally spiteful Iteciu - were full of hatred and rage. You DO know that this is all friendly competition, not an actual conflict right? I'm not sure what your goals are, but for me and my pack mates, this is all good fun. Entertainment for the participants and the onlookers."

Admittedly, Kila was a little surprised by this, since she had been raised to believe it was as serious as it was made out to be, fueled by Itecia's fiery hatred for Yelfritians and especially the cien. Still, she had to save face by playing along. "Psh! Of course, of course I know that. Why wouldn't I? Typical pup, thinking that I'm some kitten who doesn't know the difference between competition and conflict. Why don't you go back to your dirty den and cook me up some fish."

Revau ignored her biting insult. "So you're saying you'd be happy to join me in a meal?" His face twitched as he tried his best to hold back a smile.

"Well, yeah! Why wouldn't I, right?" She raised a paw and rolled her eyes, turning to walk away, then turning back. "So what time? Where?" She hopped up on the log, which in turn matched her height to his, staring at him with an intensity of a huntress about to pounce unwary prey.

He leaned in close and grabbed her hand, holding it up to her lips so he could nuzzle it - a canine way of kissing. "Well, I was thinking I could be graced with your presence tomorrow, before one of our teams are exiled. I can't think of a better way to celebrate than to spend a morning with such a beautiful and talented fighter. As for where, I was thinking that was up to you. Tell me the place, and I'll meet you there."

Contrary to her stern and arrogant exterior, she couldn't help but feel weak at the knees. His respect, honor, and reverence of her was inspiring and she genuinely had no idea how to respond to it; she wanted to thank him and blush and croon like a kitten, but this was a ciennic warrior, a filthy Yelfritian native. A gorgous, powerful, talented fighter of a Yelfritian native.

That lost to her.

Still, his politeness in lieu of her crass behavior seemed to lower her guard a bit and she found herself purring. After catching herself, she pulled her paw out of his. "Well, how about high noon?" She suggested, gulping down to suppress the purr that was rumbling in her chest. "You can stay around after your pack is sent, ahem, packing with their tails between their legs, that way I can humiliate you more!"

"It's a date." He said with a wink. His maw opened and his tongue hanged out - a universally understood expression of happiness in canines. "But in the mean time, I'd love to get to know you a bit so I can cook something most appropriate to your tastes. May I join you in your celebration here, now?"

Kila hopped back off the log to land on the soft stones near the shore. She opened her mouth to say something, to respond with some witty barb or acidic jab, but she just couldn't do that. No stinging comments came to mind, so she just sighed and held her hand to her chest, feeling the fluttering of her heart. She gulped. "I, uh, I guess that would be okay. I mean, I'm still confused about why you would want to do that. We are enemies, not friends. This...this is very unbecoming of a warrior." She kept stepping back, mostly concerned and hesitant around him, despite his courteous manner.

He shook his head. "Perhaps in your culture. In mine, it's customary to-"

"Yes, I know, customary to be subservient to you, as you have told me that already. I still think it's incredibly unnerving and unnatural."

"It might be unnatural to you, but is it a bad thing?" He stepped over the log and sat down, arms crossed over his lap. "I mean, I know your culture is a bit more focused on competition, and I admit that my culture is one where territory is hotly contested and very significant in day to day life, but respect is also very important. The alphas are that way because they earned it, they fought their way to the top and they are to be revered. Not worshipped, but respected. To us, they are not a goal to overcome or opposition to defeat, which I think is what your culture seems to believe." He scratched at his ear a bit, leg kicking at the rocks. "Or am I completely mistaken in that regard?"

She sighed heavily and leaned against one of the branches jutting out from the log he was sitting on, leaning her weight on it. She didn't want to admit it, but he was quite right about her tribe, and she hadn't really thought about it this way. Deep inside, she was impressed at his perception, his kindness, and his honor in wake of her persistently sour mood towards him. The offer of a meal, the kiss to her paw, and the sincere attempt to get to know her threw her off guard, and while she wanted to retaliate by amplifying her aggression, she couldn't help but concede. "You're not mistaken, that's not a bad thing and it's surprisingly a remarkably accurate representation of where I come from. I won't lie though, I kind of just want to fight you right now. Does that bother you?"

Revau glanced out over the river and nodded before smiling at Kila. "Nothing wrong with some friendly competition, you know; if I didn't like to spar I wouldn't participate. The key is to remember it's friendly competition and not an actual fight, if we actually wanted each other dead there wouldn't be mage healers waiting for the wounded. As long as we can agree on that, I'd be honored to have the pleasure of your acquaintance."

Kila bit her lip in an attempt to resist his charm, but she couldn't do it. A smile spread across her face and she nodded. "Well, I won't say the pleasure's all mine, but I am eager to see what you do to impress me." She winked and purred. "But for now, the last fight should be finishing up, it's about time to find out who's being booted back to their homeland. Come on." As she skipped past him, she grabbed his hand and pulled him back into the bushes to go back to their camps, concluding their first real encounter.

She wanted to be hard, to show the warrior that she'd proven herself as, but outside of the Arena Glade, Revau had proven himself to be a kind, compassionate, and thoughtful canine. She wasn't ready to open up to him, and he certainly wouldn't see her more bubbly kitten-like side, but her desire to degrade and insult him was waning with each passing second as they trekked through the dense foliage and back to the Arena Glade. He had some good points, and Kila could always use a good meal.

As they returned, the thought occurred to her that maybe his wishes of good luck before the fight was sincere, and not the condescending barb she'd interpreted it as.