by Alicia Banks
“Fight,” the announcer said.
Rose lunged at Brenda, knowing she wouldn’t be able to do much damage. She planned on getting Brenda to dodge and use her momentum to hit her. Only Brenda took her head on. She let Rose land on top of her, and then gave her a powerful kick. Rose went flying through the air, falling to the ground.
Rose got up, but she wasn’t fast enough. Brenda had long powerful legs, and she lunged at Rose, slashing her in her back. Rose howled as she felt the claws in her back, her body starting to bleed.
She pushed Brenda away, and jumped at her again. Brenda jumped as well meeting her in mid-air. Rose turned at the very last moment. Sinking her chin down, she curled up. Brenda went flying over her head, and Rose slashed her stomach open.
Brenda fell down, bleeding. Rose had finally managed to land a blow, but she knew she hadn’t cut deep enough to cause any serious injuries. Brenda got up and lunged towards Rose. Rose dodged at the last moment and turned to slash at Brenda again. Only, she miscalculated her movements.
Brenda had taken a leaf out of Rose’s book and used her own move against her. Brenda had curled up and turned around, slashing Rose in her shoulder once again. The wound opened wider, and Rose collapsed on the floor. Rose made a move to get up, but Brenda was faster. She jumped on Rose, pinning her down.
The announcer started to count, and Rose tried to struggle and get out of Brenda’s grip. The struggle was futile, because Brenda’s strong legs meant that she could pin Rose down very well. Rose heard the announcer reach to ten, and the buzzer went off, declaring the match had ended.
Brenda got off her and walked away as the crowd cheered loudly.
Rose couldn’t believe it. She had lost.
Chapter 7
Taylor
Seeing Rose lose had been painful, but sadly, not unexpected. Everyone had expected Brenda to win. She was stronger and more experienced. Still, Taylor was impressed. She had held her own pretty good. He saw her get up and start to walk towards the exit. Taylor knew she was probably trying not to cry. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. The idea of Rose crying really bothered him.
The matches for the day ended and everyone started to leave. The next set of matches would be held three days later. Taylor knew that Rose would be with the healers, getting bandaged up. Her wounds weren’t serious, but he was sure, her pride was very hurt.
He hung out with his friends for a while, who were celebrating their conquests. Nearly all of them had made it through and had a good chance of qualifying for the quarter finals. Even though his friends were being loud and noisy, drinking and smoking, Taylor couldn’t concentrate. His mind kept going back to Rose. He remembered seeing her dejected face as she walked away.
She had put on a brave face and acted like a gracious loser, shaking hands with Brenda, and even smiling and thanking her. Taylor took another sip of his Sayor, trying to push her face out of his head. He got up and excused himself, ignoring his friends’ protests.
He started to walk through the forest, hoping he would run into Rose. He checked the healer’s cabin, but she had left a long time ago. He thought about going to her cabin to check up on her, but he wasn’t sure if he should do that. She might think he had come to gloat.
Taylor didn’t know why this was bothering him so much. He just wanted to find Rose and somehow make her feel okay. He finally managed to locate one of her friends, called Anna.
“Hey!” he shouted, calling to her. “Anna? Right?”
Anna stopped and looked at him, surprised. “Yea?” she said.
“Have you seen Rose?” Taylor asked.
“She was a bit upset about the match. We tried to talk to her and make her feel better, but she told us to leave her alone for a while,” Anna said.
“Do you have any idea where she could have gone?” Taylor asked.
“Um… check near the river. She goes there when she is depressed,” Anna said.
“Thanks. Appreciate it,” Taylor said, giving her one of his charming smiles, and then he ran off.
He found her sitting near the river, throwing rocks into the river. He stood there, watching her for a while. The wind was blowing, and her scent wafted towards him. He didn’t know how to describe it, but it made his heartbeat accelerate.
“Rose?” he called out softly.
She turned around, tears streaming down her cheeks. She looked beautiful despite the red and puffy eyes.
“What are you here for? To gloat? You were right. I am short and small and weak. I don’t stand a chance,” Rose said, glaring.
“I am here to tell you that you did good. Your opponent was experienced and strong. You held your own, and it was pretty impressive. Those evasion tactics were some of the best I have seen,” Taylor said.
He saw the angry expression on her face melt, and she said, “Oh. Thank you. I still lost though.”
“You lost because you don’t have any experience. Look Rose, you can train against a mountain, you can read book on strategies, you can lift weights, but nothing will ever train you like experience. In theory, it makes sense. But when you are there, facing your opponent, real life experience really helps. You can judge their movements, you learn to react in that confusion, in that moment. You learn to react when your opponent does something different, you learn to improvise,” Taylor said, sitting down next to her.
“Why are you being nice to me?” Rose asked, looking at him. Her hair was blowing with the wind, and Taylor once again marvelled at how beautiful she was.
“Relax. I don’t have some secret agenda. We are still not mates. You made that clear. But you have a dream and you are working very hard to achieve it. I can respect that,” Taylor said. “Also, I am very impressed by the way you punched Harry.”
Rose giggled. “That is one happy memory,” she said.
Taylor felt good, being the reason she was feeling better.
“Look. It was one match. Take it as a life lesson and move on. You have three days until the next match. You need to win the next two. You need to train harder. Moping around won’t help you,” Taylor said.
“Yea. I guess,” Rose said.
“Look, how about this? Let me train you,” Taylor said.
“What?” Rose said, looking up at him.
“Let me train you. Let me give you that experience you lack. Fight with me. Practice. There a lot of little tricks that I can teach you,” Taylor said.
“I… don’t know…” Rose said, stammering.
“Look, this doesn’t mean anything. You don’t want to be my mate. I get it. You think I am a jerk; I get that too. This doesn’t have to mean anything. I see potential in you to reach new heights. Let me train you. Let me help,” Taylor said.
He could see Rose hesitating; she was silent for a few minutes. Finally, she said, “Alright. Let’s do it. Thank you, Taylor.”
Chapter 8
Taylor
It was early next morning when Taylor met with Rose to train her. Rose had wanted to start yesterday, but Taylor had refused to train her until she had rested and healed.
They agreed to meet at sunrise and by the time Taylor arrived, she was already waiting.
“How’s the wound?” Taylor asked, as a way of greeting.
Rose slipped her shirt off her shoulder, exposing her creamy skin. The wound had almost closed up completely, and the swelling had died down. Taylor tried not to stare at her smooth shoulder, and said, “Good. Seems to be healing nicely.”
“Yea. I took off the bandages this morning,” Rose replied.
“Alright, did you warm up?” Taylor asked.
Rose responded by smirking back and easing down into a split. “I have done my stretches and my warmup,” she said.
Taylor rolled his eyes and said, “Alright, show off. Time to train.”
Rose got up and stood facing him, her knees hunched. Taylor nodded at her to shift and started to shift himself. His body muscle contorted as he slowly shifted into his wolf form.
Rose
shifted as well, and she looked beautiful. Her fur coat was jet black, smooth, and glimmering. She was small and petite, her eyes were light blue instead of their usual colour.
“Ready?” Taylor asked.
Rose gave a nod, her eyes narrowed. Taylor jumped, and he saw Rose start to turn, to dodge his attack. He had years of experience of fighting, and he could anticipate where her claws would land. He twisted in mid-air, angling his body so that her claws missed him, and he landed on his feet. Rose managed to dodge, but she wasn’t able to slash him as she hoped.
Taylor turned around as quickly as he landed and jumped on top of her. He saw her twist and try to dodge, but Taylor pressed his advantage. Rose managed to roll away, but using his powerful legs, he jumped up once again, and this time landed right on top of her.
“Got you,” Taylor said, pinning her down even as she struggled. Rose was glaring at him, trying to get out, but Taylor held on fast. It took him a moment to realise how close he was to Rose. He could feel her breath on his face as she panted. Rose had stopped struggling and was looking up, straight into his eyes. At that moment, Taylor felt overwhelmed in a way that he had never felt before. His nose was overcome with her scent, his body was keenly aware of her body under his.
Her eyes were like whirlpools, pulling him in deeper and deeper. Without knowing why, he found himself leaning closer to her. All he knew was all his senses were completely overwhelmed. Rose was frozen, looking up at him. Her expression was soft, and it was tempting Taylor to lean in. It took him a minute to realise what was happening.
He cleared his throat and got off her. “You need to be more alert of your surroundings. You dodge, but you don’t look at what your opponent is doing. Where they landed, or where they are. You need to be acutely aware of your opponent at all times,” he said, trying to supress his emotions.
Rose had gotten up as well and was looking down,
“Right. Got it,” she said.
Taylor nodded and said, “Start again.”
*
The entire day had passed, and it was sunset. Rose and Taylor had been practising nonstop. Rose was a quick learner, and a few fights later, was giving Taylor a hard time.
She had taken Taylor’s instructions to heart, becoming more aware of her opponent. Practising like this also allowed her to judge better where she will land, or what the result will be of her movements.
Rose finally collapsed, exhausted. Taylor was breathing hard, and following suit, he lied down too.
“That was good. You did well last time,” Taylor said, panting.
“You still won,” Rose replied.
“Yea, but still, you made me really work for that victory. Good job, Rose,” Taylor said closing his eyes.
When he opened them again, Rose was sitting up looking at him. She had already shifted back, putting her clothes on. She looked beautiful, as the rays of the setting sun fell on her. He couldn’t read her expression; she was looking at him as if trying to find everything about him.
Taylor sat up as well, shifting back to human. He sat there, staring back at her, as the sun slowly continued to set.
“I can’t figure you out,” Rose finally said.
“Really? I am a pretty simple guy,” Taylor replied.
Rose shook her head. “No. You aren’t. Out there, you are someone else. Over here, you are someone else. Who really are you?” she asked.
“I am Taylor. I like to party, drink, and have fun,” Taylor replied, but Rose just shook her head.
“No. That’s not all there is to you. You are not just a guy who parties and has fun. That’s who you show yourself to be,” Rose said.
“I don’t know what to tell you. That’s me. I am the cocky, arrogant jerk, who thinks he is the world,” Taylor said.
Rose was frowning, her eyes narrowed. “Do you?” she asked.
Taylor was confused. He had never had conversations like this before. Most of the time it was jokes and boy talk with his friends. Rose was looking very serious and asking these deep questions.
“I know my worth, I guess. I don’t think I am the best. In fact, I don’t think I am better than other people. I just know where I stand,” Taylor replied.
Rose was staring at him again, and she was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, “Who are you, Taylor?”
Taylor didn’t know what to say.
Chapter 9
Rose
The day of the match had finally arrived, and Rose was very nervous. If she lost this match, she was out of the championship before it even started. She was pacing around nervously, waiting for her turn. Taylor was sitting in the audience and kept trying to throw her reassuring smiles. Rose was ignoring him, because he was just making her even more nervous.
She heard cheers as the match ended, and then she heard her own name being called.
“Rose vs Luther!” the announcer shouted, and the crowd started to cheer, as both the contestants started to walk to the clearing.
“On our right, we have our new budding contender, Rose! On our left, we have another new contender, Luther! Rose must win this match to stay in the competition. However, if Luther wins, he will qualify for the quarter finals. You all know the rules,” the announcer said. “Are you ready?”
Both Rose and Luther shifted into their wolves’ forms. Luther was huge as a wolf, even though he was much younger than Rose.
“Fight!” the announcer said. Rose remembered Taylor’s instructions and tried to keep all her senses alert. Luther didn’t waste any time jumping at her, and Rose instantly dodged. Luther was very strong, and Rose knew she couldn’t afford a head on head match.
Rose dodged and instantly turned around. Speed was her best friend today. Luther was bulky and hence moved slower. By the time he landed, Rose was already ready for his next attack. Luther jumped towards her once again, snarling. Rose dodged once again, jumping away at the last moment.
Keeping Taylor’s advice in her mind, she turned around instantly, keeping herself aware of Luther’s movements at all times. Luther jumped again and Rose dodged, repeating the previous pattern. She could see Luther getting more and more frustrated.
He lunged at her, and Rose dodged. Luther almost instantly lunged at her once again, hoping she wouldn’t have time to dodge. But Rose had already anticipated this and she dodged effortlessly. Luther was starting to get more and more angry. He snarled and growled at Rose, clearly not wanting to be shown up by a girl.
“Hey, Luther! Can’t you even catch the girl?” she heard someone shout from the audience, and people burst out laughing.
Luther gave a terrifying growl, his ego injured, and he lunged at Rose again, who dodged him. Luther bounded once again instantly, doing a back flip in the air and turning towards Rose. Rose darted out of the way before he could land. She heard his feet land on the ground and then lift, and she knew he was jumping again. She jumped out of his way again.
The crowd was by now laughing at Luther, who was so furious that he became vicious. He started attacking Rose, slashing at her, cornering her into one side. He tried to bite, and almost managed to get Rose twice. Rose couldn’t do anything but defend herself. His attacks were so vicious, she could barely find any opening.
Then she saw it, he had left his left flank wide open. He was so angry, that he had let his guard down. Rose did one of the fastest manoeuvres she had ever done. She curled down, avoiding his claws, and saw his stomach open for attack. Before Luther could slash again, Rose thrust her claws into his stomach, tearing it. Blood spilled everywhere, as Luther roared. The crowd was quiet, and the only sound was of the two wolves snarling and growling. Luther fell back, and Rose retreated. Even though Luther was injured, he was still much stronger than Rose was.
Only, he was a lot angrier than he was before. His attacks were vicious, and he barely guarded any of his weak points. He had completely lost his cool. He only wanted to injure the girl who was showing him up. Rose found another weak moment, and this time she dragged her claws acros
s his back, opening it up. Her claws were covered in blood, she had managed to cut pretty deep.
Luther howled and fell back, breathing hard. Rose knew that the wiser thing would be to stick to this strategy. She would slowly wear him out, as he got more and more irrational and angry. Despite knowing this, Rose attacked. She jumped onto Luther, who jumped as well, and met her mid-way.
They collided and then Rose fell. Even injured Luther was strong enough to pin her down. She heard the announcer start to count, and she started to think, “No, No! This can’t be!”
Luther was so angry that he didn’t just want to pin Rose. He started slashing at her, his claws digging into her skin, ripping it apart. The announcer was almost finished counting when Rose noticed that he had left himself wide open, while slashing her. She pushed through the pain, and pushed him back with her legs, just enough that he would push off her, but still land nearby.
She knew she had to be fast. She leaped on top of him and pinned him down, sinking her claws into his body, to keep him down. The announcer started to count, and Luther was viciously struggling under her. Rose sunk her claws into him deeper. Her legs were shaking from the exertion of keeping him pinned. She felt like the match would never come to an end.
Her muscles were about to give in, when the announcer shouted, “We have a winner! Rose!”
Rose couldn’t believe it. She won. She actually won. She got off Luther and looked towards the audience, where Taylor was sitting. He grinned at her from ear to ear. Luther glared at her, his eyes bloodshot, then without another word, he walked away.
Chapter 10
Rose
Rose was sitting with her friends, celebrating and drinking Laligurans juice, which was made from squeezed oranges and pineapples.
“I can’t believe it. You actually won, and against Luther,” Anna said.
“Yea. He was so big, when I saw him, I thought you were going to die,” Delma said.