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Seres tugged Rhyderi into the changing room. As she entered the room, she scared off a few of the other men so that she could give Rhyderi some privacy. Once she felt that they had a good amount of space, she pointed at an empty locker.
“Put your armor in there. I told you, you’re not allowed to have that sort of stuff. They don’t want weapons or armor that can skew the results in the ring. The most weaponry you can have is leather gloves, that’s it,” Seres explained. “So, strip down.”
–
Xelong ducked his head as it was touched. While his expression was rather stiff, he still managed to look annoyed by the narrowing of his eyes.
~Just now.~
“What.” Rhyderi stared at Seres now, backing towards the corner. He sure as hell didn’t want to strip, and certainly not in front of a young female. “I’m pretty sure that…” He cut himself off. “Actually, I’m positively sure that I don’t want to do this.”
Once near the corner, he backed up properly, squashing his back up against it. “Did I mention my old battle injury, yet? There’s a high chance that my shoulder is going to dislocate if things go badly…” He glanced up at the ceiling, heavily sinking down to sit. “I really don’t want to do this. Especially not for entertainment.”
–
Zach seemed unhappy at Xelong’s expression and retreated, removing his hand again. “Sorry… I just wanted to look.” He sighed. “Come here and let me hug you.”
Seres rolled her eyes at Rhyderi’s complaints. “Oh, calm down. This is not a tavern of thugs. Nearly all of the combatants are our former SOLDIERs. They used to do this in the training grounds, but my father got angry at my mother for beating up so many of the men… Anyway, you’re not going to get hurt.”
Seres turned her back on the elf. “Now, come on, go ahead and strip down. It’s just a hand-to-hand sparring match. You don’t want to loose the respect of your fellow SOLDIERs, now do you?”
–
Xelong stared at Zach with wide eyes for a good moment as he considered the man’s words. After a short bit of just staring at him, the dragon-turned-boy slipped off the chair that he was sitting on, though he stumbled upon landing, for he wasn’t used to being bi-pedal.
Rhyderi stared forwards in disbelief, then slowly repeated Seres’s words aloud, not entirely sure if he was hearing her right. “You’re not going to get hurt…” He coughed. “…in a fighting ring.”
He glared heavily at the girl and stood up again. “You’re insane. You are absolutely positively insane. I do not even know why I am entertaining your idea! Why do you want me to fight out there? What good do you think it will do? What clothes am I going to fight in? My other clothing is in my bunk, back at the training grounds.”
He fervently shook his head, raising his hands up in front of himself. “This is crazy. No. I don’t want to do it!”
–
“Oh shit, you OK?” Zach quickly sprung off his chair, moving over to pick the youngster up. He held him in his arms for a moment, then set him over his shoulder, patting his back. “You’re pretty cute like that you know.”
Seres rolled her eyes at Rhyderi’s rant. Choosing to ignore his aggitation, she turned around to examine him over for a good few moments before she teleported a pair of her own black sweat pants into her hand. Soon after, she tossed it over Rhyderi’s head.
“Settle down. I can tell from the way your muscles twitch that you need some action. Sparring me is more dangerous than all of this. Just be lucky that the former undefeated champion and owner of this place isn’t in the rankings at the moment..”
–
Xelong stared up at Zach as the man helped him stand up. After a bit, he slowly bobbed his head in appreciation. ~Thank you.~
Rhyderi yelped as the pants were flung over his head. He quickly grabbed at them and yanked them off, holding them out to examine them properly. “Now I know you’re kidding…” He groaned. “You honestly expect me to wear… this?” He pulled at the elastic, turning to Seres to give her a rather pathetic unhappy glance.
“I’ve decided that I don’t care about the sparring. But for the love of all that is Holy, please.” He flattened his ears down against his head. “Don’t make me do it while wearing some girl’s tight pants…”
–
Zach carried Xelong back to the chair and sat down with him, setting him comfortably in his lap. “There we go.” He moved his arms around him, giving him a very cuddly hug. “I’ve really missed you.”
Seres narrowed her eyes at Rhyderi’s complaints. “I’m not that much of a twig. We’re about the same height and size… Hrmph!”
Growling, Seres narrowed her eyes again as she considered the possibilities. After a moment, she used her teleportation abilities again to steal a pair of sweat pants from her father’s drawers.
“There, is that better?”
–
Xelong patiently allowed Zach to carry him, though he was confused by the feel of flesh next to flesh instead of scales. Zach felt different now, but it wasn’t a bad sort of different. So, the dragon accepted the attention and affection.
~Silly Zach. I visit you every day.~
Rhyderi ducked the second time. “Why must you insist on throwing pants at my head…”
He plucked the second pair off the floor and held them out in front of him, feeling very flustered now. He had to close his eyes and concentrate on something else calm himself. After another moment he breathed a rather heavy sigh.
“By the Light… I really don’t know how you talked me into this. I really don’t….” He eyed off the pants, then her. “Ah… if you would… please… kindly vacate the area.”
–
“I know but you’re still my buddy. And I love you. And I still miss you not living with us.” He reached out to gently stroke his back, running his hand up and down the boy’s spine. “It’s just not the same, you know?”
Seres once again rolled her eyes. “I hope you realize that I’ve seen you quite clearly while you shower after practice, Rhyderi. We’re both SOLDIERS… Hrmph, silly elf.”
Still, Seres turned around and moved to the end of the lockers so that she could scare away anyone else who may bother the elf while he changed.
Rhyderi cringed. While he knew Seres’s words were probably true, he still didn’t like the fact that the female had seen him in such a state. He turned his back on her and began to undo all the clasps and belts that bound his armour into place, sighing when the weight was removed from his person.
He slipped out of his under-armour and stuffed it in the locker, being rather quick to put on the sweat pants.
“I feel rather vulnerable. And cold…” He stood there, folding his arms across his bare chest in an attempt to keep the area guarded.
“Don’t worry, your body will warm up soon enough. Now come,” Seres beaconed. “Your match is about to start.”
Thus, Seres moved in to grip onto her partner’s left arm before she pulled him along to the entrance to the ring. On the other end of the ring was a bulky mass of a man who stood at nearly seven feet tall. To say the man was ripped would have been an understatement.
The man was busy cracking his knuckles and popping his neck as Rhyderi was ushered into the ring.
Rhyderi reluctantly walked along with Seres, his shoulders stiff and his head lowered. He really did not want to be there and he made it well-known in his body language.
When he got to the ring, his whole body went tense. He took one look at the larger male and widened his eyes, subtly backing up again. With the expression of sheer panic plastered on his face, any onlooker may have guessed that he thought he was about to die. And at that moment, he felt like he was about to die. He was ready to have the ground swallow him whole.
“R-really…” He managed to stutter out. “Too late to back out…?” He glanced upwards, as if pleading to some deity above him. “Light… save me…”
Seres remained out of the cage, though she stuck near to Rhyderi’s side. Upon noticing that the elf was cringing and showing fear, she groaned at him.
~Come on, Rhyderi. You’re always so confident when you spar. Don’t let them smell your fear.~
Meanwhile, the muscled man moved up to the middle of the ring before he took a few practice swings in order to stretch out his muscles. Once he felt ready, he locked eyes on Rhyderi.
“Heh, you better give a good show. I want a nice bag of earnings from this.”
“You wish to make money out of me? I am not some cheap harlot.” He stepped forwards, steeling himself. His expression shifted to one of sheer determination as he stepped into the ring, brows low, eyes narrowed as he shifted into a battle-ready stance.
“Bring it.”
Over the course of the next few minutes, Rhyderi showed off just how agile he was capable of being. While he didn’t have the bulk or height of the other male, he had speed as well as strength on his side. He darted around the larger male, mostly going for his back, abusing open unguarded areas, and blind spots.
~That’s it, Rhyderi. Just use your wits and get at him. He’s well known for being a dim-wit. A complete and utter one,~ Seres cheered on.
The man grunted as he was hit time and time again by Rhyderi. With each successive missed swing, the man got even more annoyed. However, as the fight dragged on, the man showed clear signs of exhaustion and lack of focus. Thus, it would become exceedingly easy for Rhyderi to pin him down.
Rhyderi continued with his pursuit, pummelling the other male. Once he was properly exhausted, the Blood Elf stepped behind him and gave him a powerful kick straight in the middle of his back, knocking him flat onto his face.
“You lose.” Rhyderi harshly hissed in his ear as he placed a foot onto his back, pinning him down.
Not long after Rhyderi pinned down his combatant, the doors opened so that the nearest attendant could separate the two “men” and insure that there was no further fighting.
Since most people had bet against Rhyderi, Seres left to collect a rather large bag of winnings for herself. Thus, she was very happy with the results of the fight.
After being separated from the other fighter, Rhyderi stretched his limbs. He had barely worked up a sweat and he had shown off his strengths in front of a whole audience. He was feeling rather good about himself for it.
He moved out of the ring again, so as not to disrupt the next round of fighters.
Once Rhyderi had filled a bag with her winnings, she walked back over to Rhyderi.
“You did good. Told you that it was fun and good for the soul. Every fighter needs a chance to flex their muscles,” the young woman mused as she counted through her bag. After a minute of counting, she pulled out several gil coins before she handed them to Rhyderi. “Here.”
Rhyderi was confused as he was handed money. He reached out to take it, looking down at it for a brief moment before he narrowed his eyes at Seres, suspicious.
“What is this for…” He shook his head. “You’re not paying me off for my win, are you?” He paused, his eyes widening. “You… you profited from my win, didn’t you.”
“Hey, it’s not my fault that I was about the only one betting on you. Be happy, it means I had confident in your scrawny little butt,” Seres complimented before she leaned in to pat Rhyderi’s head. “I knew you could do it.”
“Scrawny!” Rhyderi yelped, looking upset. “Do I really look scrawny to you? Fine, I may not be considered properly mature by my own society’s standards, but I am not scrawny! I am strong and can heft an axe over my shoulder that is nearly as heavy as you!” He snorted in disgust. “I am far from scrawny.”
“Is this done.” He growled, thoroughly insulted. “Because I want to leave.”
“Oh, stop being such a prude,” Seres quickly wrapped her arms about Rhyderi’s chest and pulled him in for a friendly hug. “I know full well what sort of power you have. However, you have to admit that your people aren’t built that bulky. So, no matter what, you’ll look scrawny. At least your’e not as bad looking as your brother, huh?”
Seres pulled away from Rhyderi as he asked to leave again. “Oh, don’t start that again. This is a tiered competition. I sit out on the first and sometimes second round because I’m the champion. But you have only surpassed the first round. Here, follow me.”
Thus, Seres lead him to the scoreboard that listed the various positions of the fighters and their current position in the rankings.
Rhyderi was alarmed at the hugging gesture and promptly retreated, pulling away. “N-no… my people aren’t a very…” He stopped, not being able to think of an apt description. “We are all relatively the same. Lithe, strong. Powerful. The more agile of us take up arms. The magic-gifted take up the Arcane.”
“You mean I have to fight somebody else…” He lowered his head, very unhappy at that moment. “Should I pray to the Light that it’s not that… large… breasted woman…?” He coughed as he spoke, going red in the face.
Seres paused as she noticed Rhyderi’s attitude toward the thought of fighting the larger woman. At first, the young woman just stared at him before she considered all the things that she had seen him do. First, he had always strayed away from kisses and affection. Then he couldn’t even handle the friendly hug that she had just provided him. In fact, based off what she had seen…
“Rhyderi… are you.. intimidated by women?”
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