Tama
He simply snorted at me again and shook his head. “A bunch of words and nothing more. Prove it.” With that he held up his hand and a sword formed in it. It looked sharp and fancy too. It had wind flowing around it and was thin. Aunt Talia had said that kind of weapon was a falcon or something. I didn’t know what that was.
I opened my mouth to ask, but he suddenly dashed forward super fast and I barely got Serenity up in time to block him!” He bounces back and dodges my counter swing quickly. I activate my water veil and steady myself. His attack was light, almost like air. But it had come so fast.
“Ah, you aren’t a complete novice.” The man said snarkily. “Then let's up the ante a little shall we?” He smiled a vicious smile that reminded me of a wolf. His wolfkin ears and tail really sold the image too. He took off running to the side. He was fast, but not as fast as me! I jumped into the air and threw multiple water daggers. He dodged them all with ease and jumped before kicking off the edge of the roof and flipping behind me. I turned just in time to block his attack. Only for him to swerve to the right and slice down.
I felt a small dribble of blood go down my arm as he bounced back a few feet and smiled. “See, barely more than a novice.”
I smiled and activated Serenity. “Then let’s play!” I said gleefully. I kicked off the ground towards him. Catching him by surprise. He dodged my first attack but my dagger found his ribs. He twisted to the side, so the dagger only stabbed into his side. In midair he did a flip over me. I quickly ducked and did a leg sweep. He dodged that by staying in the air and swiping down.
I easily dodged to the side and formed a ball of water in my hand that I fired at him. A burst of wind that caused my water ball to slow then fall harmlessly on the ground was his rebuttal. I felt excitement bubbling in me as I began bouncing on my feet.
He was even faster than Tristy. Still slower than Crivar or Manna though. I didn’t mind. I needed the training and was excited to fight. “It seems you want to get serious. Very well. If you don’t mind a bit of property damage, I say we go all out!” He said with a gleam in his eye.
I brought up Serenity and propelled myself forward. Our blades clashed and Serenity hummed with approval. Back and forth we fought. He was stronger than me, but he didn’t use his strength. Instead, he kept trying to outspeed me. It seems we were evenly matched on speed however, which seemed to excite him to no end. Finally he jumped back, panting slightly as I took a deep breath.
“You are quite skilled. I stand corrected. You are no pushover Princess. Which makes me wonder. Why?” He asked as he looked at me.
I looked back at him puzzled. “Why what?” My tail wiped away the last bit of blood from the already healed scratches he left all over me. He on the other hand was covered in small cuts where I had nicked him. Including in the side.
“She fired you because her royal advisor told her too. You were overcharging the kingdom and we simply didn’t need your services any longer.” Aunt Talia said from one roof over. We both swirled and looked at her. I hadn’t even heard her appear.
“Aunt Talia!” I said happily. “This man is amazing! I want to train with him all the time!”
Both of them ignored me and the man spoke up. “How so? Because I wanted a living wage? I never even asked to be paid that much! The regent claimed it was a necessary service so I needed to be paid that much!”
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He sounded greatly angered and I turned to face him. “Do you mean Aunt Alyssa? She makes great cookies!”
The man looked at me in puzzlement and Aunt Talia sighed. “If that is true, then perhaps you can meet with Saki, the new head royal advisor. The three of you can discuss being rehired for less if you are willing.”
The man growled out “Obviously, I need this job!” His wolf tail lashed angrily back and forth and his wolf ears flattened to his sides. He was so cool!
“Nya! You could become an adventurer! They make good gold! Tama still has lots from when she did some stuff!” I told him.
He raised an eyebrow and after a moment said. “Um.. no. I don’t wish to debase myself like that. Do you see this body? I don’t want to get it messed up with monsters. I am an elite fighter! The coliseum is where I make money fighting. You should try it sometime. You would probably make it far. After you lost to me of course.”
My eyes widened as I asked. “What's a coliseum?” I leaned in and the wolfkin leaned in, his eyes gleaming as he went to speak.
Aunt Talia cut him off however and said. “Tama, where is Saki right now?” I looked over at her and she was looking directly at me seriously.
I shrugged. “Saki and Lyran are having adult time in that inn.” I pointed in the direction of the inn.
“So she made it here okay? That’s good. In that case I believe this is handled for now. I left jiggle with the stables if you want to go see him Tama. I am going to go to the royal palace and check in then get some rest. Don’t destroy the city too. Go out to the plains if you're going to fight more or in the coliseum you understand?”
I opened my mouth, but the wolfkin cut me off. “Of course Matriarch Talia. Once again, I thank you for the chance to prove myself!” Aunt Talia stared at him for a moment before rolling her eyes and jumping off the building.
I turned back to him and asked “So.. what's a coliseum?” He was silent for a long moment as he watched where Aunt Talia had been before looking back at me.
“It’s a place where people go to fight each other. Only the best of the best can make it to the top. The rest are scrubs. I of course am in the top five. If you're lucky, you might get in the top twenty.”
I raised an eyebrow and smiled, showing my teeth as my ears perked up. “Tama will make you eat those words!” Saki had said that before so I thought it fit here.
The wolfkin laughed before looking me up and down and saying. “I can’t wait. The name is Drake. I expect to see you in the coliseum soon Princess. Don’t be a flake! With that, Air magic acted up around him and he was gone as if he had never been there.
I stared for a long moment before crying out. “Nya! Tama will be the bestest! She will be number one!” There was no response and I sighed. Turning back towards the street I realised something in horror. I didn’t know where this coliseum thingy was!
In a panic I blinked around the buildings. But I couldn’t find Aunt Talia or Drake anywhere. I considered what to do for a moment before I smiled gleefully. Jumped from the roof, I blinked towards the castle. Aunt Talia said she was going there right?
I appeared in front of the gate and was about to blink over it when one of the men in fancy armor rushed up to me. “Princess Tamaneko! Please, go through the gate like a normal person!”
I looked at him in confusion before asking “But Tama is in a hurry?” I stomped my foot and my tail lashed. Still, I waited as the gate slowly opened. It was like watching my stupid watch thing move. But somehow slower.
The large gates finally opened enough for me to go in and I instantly blinked through the gates. I went through them didn’t I? I was so smart sometimes!
I blinked up to the first set of doors, then had to wait for this set of guards to open the doors. I glared at them as they acted like they were trying to open it quickly but barely moved. They were faster than Saki at least.
I blinked into the main hall and looked around and aside from more guard people, there was no one here. I blinked to one of the guards “Nya! Where is Aunt Talia! Tama has to find the fighty place!”
She looked at me puzzled for a moment before asking “Do you mean Matriarch Talia your majesty? And are you talking about the Coliseum?” Her hands were shaking and she looked nervous. I don’t know why, she was just standing there?
