"Mel Mallard and Tala Randelle, take your positions."
Mallard, huh? She's going to cause a lot of stress for Jhaydun, heheh.
The thought does nothing to salve the sense that Fiona is both less bothered by and more bothered by my tasering her prospective friend. It's a bit more obvious she's not going into this blind, but not knowing what she's planning leaves me feeling left out.
For a moment I ponder what twisting the knife with Crusader might do to her. But those plans are a long way off, and I quickly dispel them, not wanting to think about the times I've seen Fiona cry.
Stars, I'm going soft.
*
"Begin!" Night Woman shouts, and Tala leaps into action.
She starts by circling her target, reading her scent for signs of weapons. There were restrictions for the first half, but this dueling thing hasn't been well ruled, not if Basil Baker was allowed to make so many vines and stuff.
The moment Mel tsks, Tala's hackles go up as she reaches to both sides and pulls out pistols, their tips sparkling with lightning.
"Glad I kept a full charge, yer mangy mutt."
Ash bursting out in laughter making her ears turn. "Oh stars. That's the accent she wants to hero around with?"
"Sh-shut up!" Mel shouts. "I'm a gunslinger."
"Whatever you say, Oil Stain!" Ash is promptly smacked on the back of the head by Naomi.
Tala growls at being ignored. The only rules to this brawl are not to kill each other, so she balls her clawed hand into a fist, feeling the tips bite into her palm, as she charges Mel...
... who isn't as distracted as she seems.
One pace away, Mel drops into her own hammerspace before re-emerging after Tala shoots past her, firing as she rises.
Six electric shocks wrack Tala's body and the wolf in her snarls, wrenching at the mental chains that keep it in check. Her whole body tenses as she feels her body regenerate the burns. Something inside her snaps free. Her vision tunnels and...
Suddenly Tala is back on the Rez. She looks down to find her hands stained with something dark. Something that turns red in the moonlight as she stares about. She tastes the blood on her lips. Sees the rabbits from the pen she's just raided.
Hears her mother pleading in front of the council.
"She's not feral, I promise. It's only a part of her that she needs to control."
"Then get it under control. We can't have another Randelle going feral again. Not like the last time."
"I'm sorry," she whines, holding her mother's hands as the elders stare down at her. Especially the man in the middle, whose face is hidden by smoke and shadow. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry!" Mel is crying underneath Tala when she comes to. "I surrender! Please, I'm sorry!"
"Miss Randelle! The match is over!" Night Woman shouts.
Tala looks around. Everyone is staring at her like she's a monster. Everyone except Ash and Fiona, wearing looks of pity on their faces. The medics are nearby, and one of them is holding a dartgun shakily.
As soon as Tala stands she looks down and...
Thank god there's no blood.
Just a girl terrified out of her mind.
"Match to Tala," Night Woman says, but it's Tala who feels defeated.
"I forfeit," Tala says a moment later, pushing her way through the circle and heading for the exit.
*
I watch Tala's back as she marches out, tail between her legs. She isn't the first person with a bestial Talent that's lost control in front of me. But she's the first one I want to run after. But doing so would be a mistake because what she needs is time alone before she'll be ready to talk to anyone.
I'm one of those types too.
Frowning, Night Woman announces, "Now that we're down to four matches, afterward we'll go right into the semi-finals and finals without any team receiving a buy."
I miss the part where she calls for the lizard and elf boys to take their positions. Mostly because I'm biting my thumb thinking about the side of Tala I just saw.
Clearly, she cares about not being seen as a monster, and she's not a monster. She's a person who gets angry when things get too rough. I make a mental note not to electrocute her in any way, and by the time I stop thinking about what equipment I could make to help her with her "inner beast," the match is over and Lizard Boy is helping Elfy up. The former is missing half his tail but is clearly the victor. I can already see it starting to patch over and grow back.
I hope they have replays of this because I do not want to fall behind...
And now it's time for Flamehead vs Fiona.
Or as Night Woman puts it, "Blaze Victor and Fiona Carver."
Did his parents actually name him that? Must be a legacy kid from a fire-themed family.
Come to think of it, I did once defenestrate a fire guy right into a septic truck...
The match isn't worth much commenting on. Two hops is all it takes for Fiona to wind up behind Blaze, grabbing his wrists, with both of his hands holding fireballs, and hitching his arms up until he drops them.
"Ow! Ow! Oww!"
"Surrender?" Fiona asks.
"Yeah, fine, don't break my wrists dammit!"
Night Woman calls the match there, thoroughly unsurprised, as the crowd titters excitedly about a "New Crusader."
I know for a fact Fiona isn't going for that name. She wants something cuter, but workshopping her naming choices with me is the perfect remedy for my persistent insomnia.
Hey, a girl's gotta craft, and time flies when I'm having fun.
Fun, however, is not how I would describe my impending match with Basil Baker. I should have been formulating strategies for him instead of paying attention to Tala...
I'm worried that a part of me doesn't regret that. But now that the fight is at hand, I'm able to set it aside.
Damn hormones. You will NOT get the better of me!
I set aside my thoughts and home in on the moment.
Let's see whose nature is stronger, I think as Night Woman calls out...
"Begin!"