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There was nothing like the roar of the crowd and vibrant energy of the arena to get Lupa going. The chants and calls from the audience felt like electricity coursing through her veins and charging her body with energy. The lights of the stage, the thousands upon thousands of eyes watching her every move, the sea of bodies and faces all gathered to watch and celebrate her as she showed her strength. It was everything she loved about this city, about this life.
“Lupaaaa!”
“Contender Lupa!”
“Don’t hold back Contender Lupa!”
“I put everything on you, so don’t lose!”
“MARRY ME CONTENDER LUPA!”
She couldn’t help but smile at all the cheers, summoning her bright red spear and raising it high, the wind making the flag wave proudly.
“It’s that time again, fight fans! After her breaking off with the House of Silva she’s back and wilder than ever! A true lone wolf here to devour all before her as prey! She’s mighty, she’s unrelenting, she’s MERCILESS! The more you fight, the fiercer she gets until all is charred meat for her to tear into! Our champion and undefeated Howling Flame, Contender Lupa!”
It took a lot to not roll her eyes at the announcer’s proclamation. It wasn’t wrong, but the less she said about Septimont’s advertisements the better.
Just to show off, she flared her Forte, letting a small rush of flames dash along her tail and hair, wagging her tail and hips with excited fervor as she looked back at the camera and audience with just a hint of seduction and desire, winking. The crowd popped at the sight, and she flashed her canines, eager for her prey to arrive.
“And the challenger! She’s a rising star in the arena, a favorite of the House of Rame that moves with cold precision and cutthroat malice. The heartless assassin that has sent every gladiator she’s faced on stretchers with more than frostbite and bruises! As cunning as she is cruel, an ice queen wanting to claim her missing crown! The Glacial Fox, Contender Povel!”
Lupa’s opponent entered the arena with a wave of chill and cold as the opposite gate started to frost over. She sniffed the air, noting how sterile the scent was, too cold to pick up anything distinct. Her opponent in question looked rather tame. A young girl, probably in her late teens, with short, curly black hair and grey eyes. She wore surprisingly light clothing, a very simple blue leather breast plate and short black skirt, leaving most of her back exposed. For weapons she had twin daggers that glistened in the light with a blue sheen, and immediately they started to freeze over as the frost gathered around her and created twin wispy fox tails around her back.
Oh, so that’s why she’s called a fox. Lupa had to give props to her manager at least, the outfit was attractive.
The two met eyes instantly, and Lupa let her battle lust flow out as she bared her fangs. Her nose twitched at the lacking scent. It was her main way of gauging an opponent, but she couldn’t detect anything on her. No pre-match sweat, no heavy breaths, not even a sponsored cologne on her. The cold air made everything so sterile to the point of it being annoying.
Lupa let her spear burn hot with challenge, and the girl brought forth her twin daggers and iced them over as the two examined each other. Lupa licked her lips as the tension in the air rose. She missed this kind of thick weight in the air. The short moment before two animals tore into each other for dominance over territory, prey, and pride. She couldn’t help letting out a small snarl of challenge, fangs bare. And the crowd loved it, cheering as her opponent flashed her own teeth in challenge, ready to tear into her.
“Ready to get eaten?” Lupa teased.
“Ready to be diced to ribbons?” The girl shot back, black hair crystalizing into spikes as her body started to frost over.
After a beat, Lupa lunged forward in a burst of red flames, her spear just inches from her opponent’s throat in a blur as it was blocked and caught by the two daggers. Steam hissed from the clash, a flaming spear melting into the icy edge of the daggers, Lupa and the girl sweating from the heat and cold. “Pretty good~” Lupa breathed out, flashing her canines. “For prey~”
“And the first clash is made! The Fox narrowly avoiding the Wolf’s fearsome first bite!”
The temperature dropped further, and the girl bared her teeth in anger at the taunt as the very air around them fought between scalding heat and blistering cold. “How dare you!” She snarled, the ice on her daggers reforming and starting to chill Lupa’s spear.
The girl pulled back her short blades, spinning on a heel and kicking hard into Lupa’s ribs.
Lupa gritted her teeth, the grin on her face widening. “C’mon!” She shot back. “Hit me like you mean it!”
The girl answered Lupa’s challenge with a charge, her daggers glowing a light blue along with her eyes as her steps froze the ground underneath her. “I’ll show you!”
Fire danced around Lupa’s spear, and she slammed it hard into the ground as the stone underneath heated up like a furnace. The intensity was like warm sun on Lupa’s skin, but the girl staggered as the pressure changed, her frozen steps melting the frost to liquid and turning her steady charge into a slippery stumble. It was all the opening Lupa needed as she gripped her spear tight, pulled back and made the shaft bend before she flung herself forward, her heel slamming right into the girl’s chest in a heavy kick.
“HRG-!” Whatever condensed hardening her Forte gave her meant little, the girl’s frozen skin cracked and dented like a tin can from the kick, and she fell to the ground wheezing, steam and frost melting away against Lupa’s heat.
“Oooh, and a rough break for the challenger! Lupa’s flame burned right through and drew first blood! I could feel that kick from here, fight fans, and it was not pretty!”
Lupa landed and stood over the girl in a single, smooth motion, her tail wagging with predatory excitement as she lowered herself toward the girl, looking over her crumpled body with an amused smirk. The bruise on the girl’s side definitely signaled broken ribs, and her frantic breathing and hitched rhythm had Lupa holding back a tsk at the sight. “Damn, you look rough.” She said. “Barely got a hit on me yet and already on the ground.” She pointed her spear tip at the girl’s should, letting the heat start to melt away at the remaining frost and forcing the girl to sweat. The scent of salt and sweat started to come back, and Lupa licked her lips at the sensation of it, taking a short inhale. “Oho~ If you’re sweating already, you aren’t gonna’ last long.” She let her blade touch the girl’s cheek, giving a clear cut. “Think I’ll give you little whiskers to match your title, Glacial Fox.”
The girl gave a low, weak growl in return, her eyes still burning bright blue. “Don’t underestimate me,”
She had some resilience, Lupa would give her that. Most would start panicking at this point after Lupa got the advantage this fast. “C’mon, up you go then!” She snatched a handful of the girl’s black hair, the heat of her body forcing the frosted spikes along the girl’s hair to melt and soften as Lupa forced her up to her feet. The girl hissed and winced but stood, her legs quickly finding their footing. “Show me what you’ve got!” Lupa gave the girl a hard shove and hopped back, her yellow eyes boring into the girl’s blue ones with an ominous glow. “I’ll tear out your throat if you bore me.”
The threat got the girl to narrow her eyes, the air around her condensing and freezing as her daggers reformed in her hands. She bared her teeth at Lupa. “I’ll tear you open first!”
Lupa flashed her own canines back, a wide grin of excitement on her lips as she wreathed her spear in flames once again. She liked the moxy of this girl, it was almost cute how fierce she snapped back. “Did your voice just crack a little?” She teased. “I think you’re scared of me.”
The tips of the girl’s black hair turned a crystalline blue, and her daggers lengthened by an inch, the light from the sun and Lupa’s flames making them glint like diamonds as they sharpened. The steam was gone now, only a hard cold from the weapons could be felt. “Bastard She-Wolf!” She shrieked, her voice shrill. “Don’t think a lucky hit means anything!”
Lupa barked out a loud laugh. Yeah, this girl was definitely cute. Something about the rage of an up-and-comer wanting to beat Lupa brought out her urge to bully the little thing and tease out the fight some more. “Then prove it and hit me!” And oh, how she loved the banter. Trading insults and remarks with a heated opponent was too much fun. “Should I let you take a free shot? Do you need the handicap?”
The girl’s wild scream and explosive charge answered her, the very air growing thick with the cold as she aimed her blades at Lupa’s throat with earnest killing intent.
And Lupa batted away the telegraphed blow with a quick flick of her spear, completely knocking the girl off balance.
“W-Wha-?!” And there it was: the wide-eyed, stunned, utterly dumbfound expression when the plan didn’t come together. When heated rage gave to cold realization. The dreaded emotion all Septimontians avoided at all cost from showing until despair hit.
Fear.
The realization of her opponent that she overextended, let her anger get to her, and was now open for punishment. The dark, despairing look of someone that knew they had lost the fight and would taste defeat.
And that the great fear of every Septimontian, shame, would await them.
Lupa didn’t hold back, twisting her body and slashing hard and deep into the girl’s back, right at the opening that showed off her toned shoulder blades, her tacet mark right in the center. Lupa’s burning spear cutting into the sheen of iced over skin, breaking into flesh.
“AAAAAGGH-!” Blood gushed from the strike, and the girl’s pained howl proved how damaging it was as Lupa’s face was splashed with liquid red.
“First blood has officially been drawn, fight fans! The Wolf has marked her prey! And look at that grin, she’s loving every second of it!”
Lupa licked her lips, sampling the iron tang of her prey’s mistake and grinning.
Quickly, the girl’s skin froze over to create a second layer of armor. A smart move and good show of a cool head, but against a Resonator like Lupa it’d just open you up to a painful defeat as the ice melted and burned.
Lupa couldn’t hide the wide grin on her face at the sight of drawing first blood, the excitement turning her cheeks as red as the blood on her face. She wanted more, she needed more.
And thankfully, her opponent rose to her feet, crystal daggers still in her hands.
The girl spun around and lashed out with a slash, but Lupa caught the girl’s wrist before impact, looking her in the eyes with a predator’s gaze. The girl shuddered but kept her grip tight on her weapon, glaring back with as much cold determination as she could despite the shivers.
Lupa’s nose twitched, and her smile grew as she sniffed the air. Even with the sterilizing cold she could smell the sweat on the girl’s neck, still see the icy tears that were starting to melt against Lupa’s heat and flame. The addictive scent of fear. Lupa’s grip tightened, and the girl winced as her wrist heated and burned against Lupa’s high body temperature. She might not chase after this scent often, but fearful prey, a would-be challenger realizing they were second to her never failed to get her blood boiling with that predatory drive to put her jaws on their neck and clamp.
Seeing the girl tense up, Lupa smiled wide, slamming her spear into the ground and reeling her fist back. She wanted to make this a little personal.
Her fist rammed hard into the girl’s jaw, the layer of frost and ice around her skin cracking as a tooth was forced out of her opponent’s mouth against Lupa’s heated fist. Skin broke open, and blood dripped from the girl’s cheek as steam practically exploded from the competing temperatures. “No,” Lupa growled, grabbing the girl’s black hair and preventing her from dropping. “You’re taking all of this!” She tightened her fist and punched again, another burst of steam and blood. Followed by another, and another, and another.
“Brutality! Utter brutality! Not even worth using her spear, Contender Lupa decides to let her fists do the talking as if brawling in the tavern! Contender Povel can only take punch after punch as blood flies!”
Each punch from Lupa’s heated fist drew just a bit more blood and saliva from Povel, making her twitch at each impact and the fallen look of despair on her face furthering with every bit of damage she took. To the girl’s credit she didn’t beg for mercy or try to run, forcing herself to at least take the hits with as much stoicism as her breaking will could handle. Lupa might have commended her for the bravery if the bloodlust didn’t consume her. The scent of blood and smell of sweat after only smelling the sterilizing cold made this addictive. Four more punches followed, each one splattering the stone with drops of red blood, blue ice, clear sweat, and hisses of steam and pain alike as Lupa chipped at her foe’s ice and will.
A final punched had Lupa release the girl’s hair and slam her head into the ground with a thud. The iced over stone cracked from the impact, and Lupa’s flames slowly died down as the girl’s will to fight faded.
Lupa licked her lips of the remaining blood around them, running her tongue along her bloodied knuckles as she took in the bruises and cuts along the girl’s face. The combination of punches, flames, and brutality left the girl’s right side a mess of burns, blisters, and bruises. The look of freshly conquered prey that could only whimper and accept the winner’s victory.
“Awww~” Lupa lowered her head to the girl, giving a short, playful lick along the melting ice on her cheek and tasting the salt of tears. “Crying already?” She grinned wide, showing her canines and making the girl shudder. “Cute.”
The poor girl had tears streaming down her eyes as the crowd exploded at the sight. “I… I…” The girl stammered out.
“You lost,” Lupa said plainly. “But you lost to the best.”
Despite her tears and shame, the girl still had enough fire to glare at Lupa. “Damn She-Wolf…” She hissed.
Lupa grabbed her spear, coming down to straddle the girl and let her spear slowly and lightly drag along her neck, drawing a thin line of blood as her defeated opponent’s voice hitched in pain. “You didn’t bore me. Not too much,” Her spear ignited, teasing the girl with the flames as the tears flowed freely and evaporated as the hot flames heated her face and melted the ice.
“And she’s done it, fight fans! Contender Lupa continues to reign as champion!”
Lupa rested herself atop her fallen foe, looking up at the cheering audience and glancing down at the fallen warrior still crying bitter tears.
“Sooooo…” Lupa started. “Remember when I said I’d eat you?”
The girl stiffened.
“Leonidas Hotel,” She stated. “Show up… or I might hunt you for real.”