Event 03
Let's practice good sportscreatureship!
Last time: Rary barely completes the air race, and Vivi learns something is up with one of the competitors, another griffon that isn’t quite what it seems…
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Event 03- The Battle Pavilion
The battle pavilion was actually just a tent, but a very large one that welcomed competitors into the main arena grounds. Vivi, Sapphire, and Rary walked side by side, Clara and Amur trailing behind.
"Okay," Vivi said, looking around at their surroundings. "It looks like we have to start off at the testing paddock so they can find out how strong you are."
Rary pranced in place. "I feel eighty percent strong today!"
Vivi nodded. "That's a good percentage." She turned to read another sign. "Then we can—yipe."
Rary turned as well. "What does that—oh, it's you!"
Standing behind where Vivi had just been was a young boy with brown, bowl-cut hair that nearly covered his eyes, wearing only a long-sleeved shirt and sweatpants despite the chilly air. He had one finger raised in the air and his mouth was open, but wasn't speaking.
"Hi LJ," Vivi began.
LJ lowered his hand, closed his mouth and slumped his shoulders, curious behavior for most, but not for him. "Hi," he said simply.
Clara and Amur joined the little group. "Oh, hi. I don't think we've met. I'm Clara, Tigerland rep, and this is Amur." The tiger himself growled in greeting.
"Um…" LJ said. "Ahm…umm…" To add to the oddness, his face was turning as red as his shirt.
"This is LJ, my cousin," Vivi supplied.
Clara drew her into an aside. "Is he always like this?" she whispered.
"Usually," Vivi answered, "unless you get him talking about his favorite game."
"Got it," Clara nodded, then returned to the conversation. "So what kind of creature do you have?"
"Um…a fox."
"Oh, did you bring Mira?" Vivi asked. "Where is she? I haven't seen her in a while."
"Yeah!" Rary said. "She and I are due for a rematch after last time!"
LJ looked around and behind, a moment or two longer than necessary, as no such creatures were anywhere nearby. "Um, I dunno. She'll come back, probably."
Clara giggled, which made LJ blush again, so she giggled again, which only made it worse.
Vivi sighed. "Well, when you find her, or she finds you, or somebody finds somebody, let us know. We're gonna get signed up for a battle."
"Oh good," LJ said, looking more animated at once. "Since Rary's an air-slash-standard type, he's got a good chance of getting matched up against another air type, there aren't many others in the lists right now."
"What about him?" Rary pointed his beak toward a crowd gathered around Halcyon, who was strutting about the arena after a victory.
"That breed of winged horse is air-slash-light, so unless you know a dark type technique, you'd have a hard time against him."
"Eek," Rary said, bowing his head. "I'm afraid of the dark."
"Don't worry," Vivi said. "If you get matched up with him, just tell him how great he is 'til he's distracted, then sock 'im."
"Good idea!"
Vivi adjusted her shoulder strap, Sapphire squeaking as she got jostled. "Come on, let's go see how your eighty percent strength will do today."
LJ followed them, walking with his hands behind his back. "If he needs twenty percent of his health restored, I recommend a bottle of Vitalixir, it's cost-to-effectiveness ratio is good for living creatures with his fast metabolism…"
"Yeah, but it's so expensive, especially when I can get the same thing at home…"
Clara glanced at Amur and shrugged before following the rest of the crew. Amur tried to shrug too, but his shoulders wouldn't move the right way, so he just flicked his tail.
__*|*|*|*__
Inside the testing paddock, Rary clawed and bit at the training dummies, dodged and jumped over moving obstacles, and endured blows from foam-covered bats. Not sports bats, but bat-like creatures wearing little padded helmets and girdles which rammed into him repeatedly until the testers were satisfied. The helpful attendant had black spiky hair and wore glasses, and he handed Vivi a paper printout, like a receipt. He told them to take it to the adjacent tent and wait.
But they didn't have to wait long. The next attendant, a roundish fellow with short brown hair, pointed them at once to an empty arena. "Head there, please, your opponent will be there shortly." He turned to the crowd and whistled. "Number twenty-eight! Please go to arena twelve!"
The arena was pretty large, about the size of Vivi's entire house if it was a square and not a rectangle. Rary stepped through the gate while Vivi, Clara, LJ, and Amur leaned against the fence. Sapphire leaned against Vivi, nestled in her pouch, still able to see through the gaps in the rails.
Rary scoped out the space he would spar in. The fence was made of sturdy metal, secured to the ground, so he could probably climb up on it or jump off it, but with all of his wings and tail he might risk disqualification from ringing out. Because of the time of day, the sun was nearly overhead, the nearby tents cast dark shadows across half of the arena floor. That was packed dirt, so his claws had lots of traction, and he could roll easily without too much trouble. But that meant they could too…
"Finally! I thought we would never get an opponent!" The speaker was a short boy covered in loose clothing, his dark skin a contrast to the light colors of his garments.
"I know, fifteen minutes is practically an eternity…" Beside him was a tall girl in a flowing dress wrap; from her matching skin and face shape, it was clear they were siblings. Their creature followed close behind them, and the sight of him made Rary's wings and tail droop.
It was a round, hulking cactus, with two arms and legs each, and wicked sharp barbs growing all over its tough skin. It's face-like growths were twisted into a menacing grin, an odd complement to the dainty yellow flower growing from its head. It didn't enter the arena, though, which only unnerved Rary further.
"Oh, great, you're both here." A girl ran up to the gate, dressed in the uniform of the staff, but who couldn't have been much older than LJ, who was still a kid himself. "I'm Nina, the referee for this arena, sorry I'm late." She stepped inside and brushed her long blonde hair back out of her face. "Well, there are actually a lot of you here. Ahem. Handlers and their creatures, please step forward." She gestured to a spot on the ground in front of her.
Vivi had noticed the giant cactus creature also, and caught some of LJ's mumblings about it being a wood type with a piercing specialty, as she walked inside to meet with Rary. The gate was narrow, but the brother of the duo gestured for her to go first. That was a good sign, at least.
Rary waited for the plant creature to move forward, but it stayed put near the sister, watching everything with a blank look on its face. The other boy entered the arena by himself, or that's what it looked like at first. A short, scaled creature was concealed behind his loose pants, it darted around in front as they approached Nina.
All the fear Rary had evaporated. His real opponent was a scrawny little lizard, with brown scales and an orange frill around its neck. It walked on two legs, holding its claws in front of it, but those claws weren't much to worry about. Rary couldn't help but smile, this was going to be a good warm-up before the real fights.
Vivi didn't look relieved, keeping her usual focus. She stood with her hand on the side of Rary's head as Nina continued the proceedings.
"Very good, we have our competitors. Please state your name, which Land you're from, and your creature's name. Please."
"Um…Vivi of Griffonland, and this is Rary."
"Rary!" he echoed.
The boy stuck his chin in the air. "I'm Sadhu, from Desertland, and she's Kirika." He pointed to the lizard.
"Everything he said is correct," Kirika confirmed.
"Excellent," Nina proclaimed. "Now, this is a standard match, ending when one creature concedes, or a handler can call for a concession. If a creature leaves the arena under their own power," she took a deep breath, "they forfeit, but if they're thrown or dropped outside, they won't be disqualified. Understood?"
"Yup!" Rary crowed.
"I understand," Kirika said gravely. Rary looked at her closely, her little lizard eyes were narrow and firm.
"Alright!" Nina continued. "Handlers, please shake hands."
Vivi winced. "Um…is there any way we could skip that?"
Nina tilted her head in surprise. "Well, I suppose if your opponent is alright with it?"
Sadhu was staring up at the sky as if he hadn't been paying attention. "Huh? Okay, sure."
"Great," Nina said, "we'll waive the handshake. Well, I mean waive like not do it, not wave like…oh, nevermind. Handlers, please leave the arena, and creatures, you'll begin on my mark." Everyone did what they were told, Rary and Kirika standing on their starting circles, several paces away from one another, both in patches of direct sunlight.
Clara smiled at Vivi. "This should be an easy match, right? Rary can just pin her down."
"It won't be," LJ said. "Not if she's the species of reptile that I think she is."
"Why's that?" Clara asked.
"Ready!" Nina called, raising her hand. She dropped it as she yelled, "begin!"
Rary barely blinked before a bolt of lightning knocked him backwards.
LJ shook his head. "Because of that."
"An electric lizard," Vivi muttered, her trusty creature manual in hand, flipping through the pages to find the right entry.
"Page two hundred seventeen," LJ contributed.
Clara looked at him sideways, but Vivi found what she wanted right away. "Fire-slash-light type…stores energy in its frill…can eat large insects and chickens…"
Rary got to his feet and shook his head, small white feathers drifting down like snow. "Oh boy. Let's see how fast I can be." Kirika was already charging for another blast, her frill glowing brightly despite the patch of intense sunlight that she was standing in. Rary ran to the side, narrowly missing the next bolt aimed at his tail.
"Yow! But now it's my turn!" He took a breath, then let out a piercing screech. Everyone present covered their ears, Kirika had to bend over to reach her ear holes with her tiny hands. This was plenty of opportunity, and Rary dashed forward to strike. Just as he reared back with his talons, Kirika opened one eye and blasted him away.
"Kirika!" Sadhu called from the sideline. "Quit toying with him and use a bigger blast!"
His sister leaned against her tall cactus creature, using him as shade. Despite the arm-length spikes that ran along the sides of its body, she nestled herself comfortably between them, surveying the match with her arms crossed. "Are you sure that's wise?"
"Please, Geetha," he replied in a sassy voice. "Whose handler is she? I know what to do."
Geetha just shook her head.
Kirika hadn't moved from her starting position, still in full sunlight. She kept drawing in energy, crackling sparks running down her legs into the ground. Vivi looked back and forth between the book and the duo of opponents, then it clicked.
"Rary, give her a push!"
"What? Why?"
"Just go!"
Rary's trust held as he jumped sideways, then reared up and spread his wings apart. With a mighty flap, he sent a burst of air forward, aided by a perfectly tuned screech. The sound waves mingled with the turbulence and shot ahead. Kirika may have been infused with lightning, but she wasn't as fast. The whirling wind knocked into her and sent her skidding backwards, away from her starting spot and into the shade of the tent above them. At the last moment, Rary flattened himself against the ground to avoid the large energy blast that sailed harmlessly overhead.
"What? No!" Sadhu yelled.
"Stop worrying," Geetha said. "There's still some light in the shade, isn't there?"
Vivi nodded at LJ, her suspicions were correct. Kirika tried to scurry back into the light, but Rary kept her at bay, a large winged cat against a scaly mouse. When she got too close, he swiped at her with a claw. The lizard attempted to retaliate with scratches and bites of her own, but her claws were just too small for Rary's sturdy hide.
"He's got her cornered!" Clara said excitedly.
But, it seemed Geetha's assessment was correct. Rary didn't notice the sparks fringing her frill until there were enough to be concerning, and Kirika charged ahead right under Rary. She released a moderate amount of energy at close range, sending Rary sprawling backwards to land on his tail. Kirika scuttled forward back into the sunlight and wasted no time in charging up once again.
Rather than a big single blast as her handler wanted, Kirika preferred many rapid blasts, peppering Rary over and over with stinging needles of energy. This kept him moving, to avoid the little white bees that wouldn't leave him alone.
"Now what?" Clara asked. "It doesn't look good…"
LJ stroked his bare chin. "I estimate his odds at one to three hundred twenty-four against…"
"Hmm…" Amur growled, watching the match with his wise tiger eyes. "I remember an old tale about an armored blue warrior who could mimic the skills of his opponents with perfect accuracy. He once faced off against a master of lightning, and in order to defeat him, he had to disconnect the source of his power. He had to cut the cord, as it were."
"But Amur," Clara said, "he already tried keeping her out of the sunlight."
Vivi looked up suddenly. "Rary!" she called. "My friend Vivi is calling in with a question!"
Rary dodged one strike and took another on the wing. "This is no time for mystery science!"
"Yes it is! Why don't birds get electrocuted when they land on power lines?"
Amur growled contentedly.
Rary stopped. "Because they—squawk!" His green eyes gleamed as he galloped forward, wincing as each bolt hit its mark.
"What now?" Sadhu complained.
Geetha was looking at Vivi with an interested glint in her eye. "Now we wait and see."
Swirls of sonic energy built around Rary's sharp beak, but right before the spiral charge connected, he leaped into the air, wide wings blotting out the sun for a moment. Kirika hesitated at the sight of the soaring griffon, and Rary snatched her off the ground with his front talons before swooping upwards again.
Sadhu groaned. "Are you serious?"
The arena wasn't as large as the air race course, but Rary still had some good distance to sail around a bit. "Hi down there," he said to the terrified lizard in his claws. "It's such a nice day today, I thought you might want to join me for a flight!"
"Umm…" Kirika squeaked. "Not really?"
"Okay, I can put you down then." Rary pretended to lose his grip.
"No, nevermind! A flight is fine!" She scrambled back up his legs as he wheeled around in a circle.
"Come on, Kirika!" Sadhu shouted. "Get out of there!"
At her handler's voice, Kirika perked up, her resolve returning. She charged another bolt and fired it directly at Rary's chest.
"Hey, that doesn't even tickle!"
"All right!" Clara cheered, giving Vivi a high five, which she didn't seem to mind at all. "Electricity can't find a path to the ground if they're in the air!"
LJ stared at the spectacle in the sky. "Odds are looking better, I'd say…one in fifty-four against now."
Vivi kept her eyes narrow and her mouth tight.
Kirika must have been trying Sadhu's original plan, as she began charging up energy, the glow becoming noticeable from the ground. "Yes," Sadhu said, still loud enough for his opponents to hear. "If she charges up enough juice, she can let him have it when he lands again."
"What if he doesn't land?" Geetha asked.
"Huh? He can't fly forever. Can he?"
"Or…what if she exceeds her maximum amperage?"
"But that would only happen if she couldn't…" Sadhu's face looked murderous. "If she wasn't grounded anymore…"
Rary looked down at his luminous prey. "Wow, good thing you only give off light instead of heat when you charge up, huh?"
Kirika was trembling with the effort of holding in all the voltage. She managed to say, "Why?"
Rary soared into another patch of light, gaining altitude to clear the nearby tent. "Because otherwise I wouldn't be able to hold you!" He flipped upside down, exposing his passenger to the full force of the sun. "You're looking pale, why don't you get some more sun?" He tossed her upward, then dove to avoid the inevitable.
The explosion of colored light and thunderous sounds drew attention from all over the battle pavilion. Rary touched down gently, the frazzled Kirika nestled between his wings. Nina ran over to them.
Kirika coughed. "I…concede…"
The ring attendant raised her hand. "Match goes to Rary!"
Every handler clapped, except Sadhu, but including Geetha, once her brother had scrambled into the arena to tend to his creature. The cactus creature also perked up at the sound of the applause, stamping its heavy arms into the ground to join in.
Sadhu scooped up Kirika off Rary's back, cradling her gently. "You'll be alright, there's always next time," he muttered as he stalked away.
Rary lay down on the ground, folding his legs up underneath him. "Whew, that was a thing."
Vivi had a bundle of herbs in her hand, forcing her to juggle the metal hexagons Nina held in front of her. "Here are your medals, congratulations. That was certainly spectacular!"
"Thanks," Vivi said, deftly adding them to the holder on her belt.
A teddy bear with shiny boxing gloves and shorts stood by the entrance, towering over his handler. Nina waved to them, then turned to Vivi. "It looks like we have another match already, so if you wouldn't mind clearing out?" She tilted her head cutely, which wasn't really necessary.
"Yeah, let's go, Rary."
"Ugh, okay."
Rary went through the gate first, leaving Vivi and Sapphire last. The cactus was gone, but Geetha had remained behind, leaning against the fence with her arms crossed. "Good match," she called to Vivi.
Vivi felt herself squirming with all the praise. "Thanks."
Geetha stepped forward and toward her. "You showed wisdom, which is admirable. Using natural traits to your advantage. A much better strategy than raw might." She tossed a glinting object in the air, which Vivi managed to catch with only one hand, and her left one at that.
By the time Vivi recovered, Geetha was already walking away, her loose dress flowing in the breeze. "To your future."
Vivi opened her hand to reveal a competition medal.
__*|*|*|*__
Rary chewed on his healing herbs while the group of six, children and creatures, made their way back to the central waiting area. A sizeable crowd had gathered near one arena in particular, and it didn't take much to see what was causing the ruckus. Ebris stood by the arena gate, not calling out suggestions or really saying anything at all. Sable seemed to be doing fine on his own, facing off against a shaggy ox-like creature with horns that looked like they'd been sharpened with a grindstone.
Vivi and her entourage stopped to watch as well; the ebony-feathered griffon using his sharp claws and powerful beak to great effect, despite the ox's thick hide and matted fur. Every so often he swiped a sheet of inky darkness at his foe, causing everyone watching to wince a little. Clara stood near Vivi, Amur and Rary padding along together. LJ lurked nearby, his hands clasped behind his back.
"I have a weird question," Vivi began, still watching the battle.
Clara had her hands in the pockets of her jacket to keep them warm. "Vivi, when do you ever have a not-weird question?"
Vivi shrugged. "So, what do you see fighting the ox creature?"
"Hm, well," Clara said. "I see a majestic creature at home on land or in the sky. I can imagine him soaring over a mountain lake, then diving down to catch a juicy, fresh fish."
Rary whined a little. "Aw, Clara, your descriptions are making me hungry again…"
"Oh, you poor thing!" Clara said, only somewhat teasing. "You never had a snack after your battle. Lucky for you, my creature is carnivorous, too." She reached into her leather bag, both Amur and Rary wiggling their tails in anticipation.
"What about you, LJ?" Vivi asked.
LJ turned around sharply, he'd been looking at a completely different match. "Huh?"
"What do you see fighting over there?" She pointed toward the correct arena, surprised that her hand was trembling.
"Hmm…An air-slash-dark creature, high in speed and power but likely low in defense and focus. I place it as a class B, unless it showed strong potential for energy-based techniques, since dark types are fairly rare anymore…" He trailed off, possibly saying more but too quietly to be heard.
Clara unwrapped another meat treat for the hungry creatures. "Why, what do you see?"
Vivi looked around for a moment, casting her eyes back and forth in case anything else looked amiss. But it was just that. "I'm…not really sure. But nevermind, let's go get queued up again."
"Yeah!" Rary cheered. "Let's see what kind of opponents are out there now. Maybe I can fight one as strong as you, Amur!"
"Why, thank you," the cat replied.
"Or…" Rary narrowed his eyes. "Why don't you and I fight? Then we can both earn medals."
LJ stepped up to Rary's shoulder. "The queue system doesn't work that way. You might get matched with him, or you might not. You could always do an exhibition match, of course, but those aren't worth any medals…"
"Aw, bummer…" The rest of the group had stopped walking, so Rary plopped down on his haunches like he'd seen a cool armored griffon in a game do.
They had reached the center of the pavilion area again, multiple skirmishes and scuffles going on all around them. Vivi was trying not to get distracted by the loud sounds and vibrant colors of the combatants, but couldn't help getting drawn away by each one. She looked over to the ring where Sable was winning, peering intently to see if she could figure out any new details. Sapphire nudged against her arm; she pet the little creature absently without looking at her.
"What do you think, Vivi?" Clara was asking. It took Vivi a few seconds to attend enough to respond, but Clara waited patiently for her.
"About what?"
"LJ says the queue for team battles is much shorter, so Rary and Amur want to fight with each other instead of against each other."
"Oh, yeah, that sounds great. Let's go."
"Or, at least I think that's what he said…"
__*|*|*|*__
"Just great…" Rary said, pawing the edge of the circle he was supposed to stand inside. Amur was to his right, across from the other pair of circles that held their foes. Inside one was the white armored dog they'd seen when registering, his frosty breath visible despite the heat of the day. Inside the other, proud and preening as always, was Halcyon.
"Now Rary," Amur said, sitting patiently in his circle, his symmetry as fearful as ever. "Let's practice good sportscreatureship." His voice dropped to a low growl, which was usually a figure of speech but rather accurate when describing how a large tiger spoke quietly. "Just because he's a conceited, proud creature doesn't mean we should avoid dueling with him. In fact…"
Rary flicked his tail excitedly. "That’s a great reason to battle! But hang on, Mister Neil is saying something that sounds important." He was proud he had finally learned to pay attention when important people were talking.
The young man in charge of that battle looked half asleep, like he'd just woken up from a nap. "Alright, well, team battles are a little different, 'cause, well, both creatures on the same team have to concede before it's over. And…oh yeah, if one creature gets knocked out of the ring, that's okay, as long as the other one is still…not knocked out. Of the ring, I mean. And there's no penalty if you hit your teammate with a technique or the effects of one. That's a new rule for this year. Though I don't know why you'd want to hit your own teammate? Oh well…So, team one, made up of…" He consulted a clipboard in his hand. "Halcyon of Princessland and Spinner of Tundraland, versus team two, with…Braveheart of Griffonland and Amur of Tigerland. And, that's it. Now, it's time to begin!"
Each creature sprang to action; Halcyon stamping and snorting as he charged ahead, Spinner blowing out a stream of freezing air in their direction.
Amur bounded forward. "I'll handle that!" He drew in a breath, then exhaled a fan of shining flames, evaporating the cold technique easily.
"Yay Amur! Warm him up!" Rary cheered. He kept an eye on Halcyon, who was getting close, his wings pointed forward like giant white hands. Or maybe it was part of the technique, as the tips of his feathers turned into points of hot light and streaked toward Rary. He rolled forward, the beams fizzling out as they struck the ground, and actually landed on his feet this time.
On the other side of the arena fence, a different sort of battle was going on, with a mismatched set of opponents. Spinner's handler was excitedly chatting with LJ about stats and figures; apparently he thought enough of his creature's ability to let him fight on his own. That left Vivi and Clara to show down with the imposing Marguerite all on their own.
Clara kept her voice in a whisper. "Should we say something?"
Vivi ignored the hint and spoke normally. "Like what?"
"Like…hey, good luck, or something?"
Vivi peered at the tall girl, who was absorbed in the match, grinning when Halcyon had the upper hand and wincing when he got a knock or two.
Her hands were at her sides, clenched into fists, the fur muff that had protected them at the cloud tower hanging over her neck on a cord. She didn't seem interested in any of the other people around her, so Vivi was just fine with letting her be.
"Why do you want to talk to her so badly? She—" Vivi paused as Rary's sonic screech pierced the air. "She isn't very nice."
Clara crossed her arms. "That's all the more reason we should be nice to her, right? Everyone's deserving of kindness, even if they aren't kind themselves?"
"Yeah, I guess so…"
"So…why don't you go first?" Clara motioned forward with her head.
"But your creature is fighting hers…"
"So is yours!"
"Okay, we'll both do it together, how's that?"
"Great, on three."
The girls stepped closer to Marguerite, over the sounds of cracking ice and whirling flames. Clara counted down, and they spoke in unison: "Good luck!"
"—Or something," Vivi added.
Marguerite turned from the match. "Thank you. But I won't need it. Halcyon has won the battle championship in our region for the past three years in a row!"
Clara nodded and listened while Vivi actually dropped her voice to an appropriate whisper. "Told you so."
A wall of jagged ice erupted in front of Rary, he careened out of the way and slid to a stop. Amur was flicking embers from his tail at Halcyon, so he had to deal with this on his own. Finding a thin spot in the barricade, he reared up, swiping both of his claws at just the right speed and angle while screeching the exact way he'd learned. Spiraling crescents of sound and air sliced into the barrier, crumbling it to bits as he dashed through the opening.
Spinner yelped to see Rary land in front of him, too quickly to get enough breath together for another blast. The dog snapped and lunged instead, but found no griffon to sink his teeth into. Rary had leaped up, his wings carrying him high. With a triumphant call, he dropped onto Spinner's back, sending him clanking to the ground in a heap. "Why don't you lie down for a while?"
Twisting around, Rary saw Halcyon from the back, still intent on trading shots with Amur. Without bantering to give himself away, he charged toward Halcyon's flank, drawing in energy for another spiral beak shot and—
A long white head on a long white neck whipped around. "Next time, at least call ahead!" Halcyon snorted, loosing a powerful rear kick. Rary panicked, his momentum was carrying him forward, not to mention the whirling energy, but if he could roll out of the way in time…
He didn't have enough of either. Halcyon's hoof clipped his shoulder, sending him sprawling. The horse turned to follow up with a stomp, but backed away from the snarling, flaming tiger bounding in front of his fallen friend.
"Oh no!" Clara yelped, her hands clasped in worry. "Do you want to call him out?"
Vivi watched the creatures carefully: Rary struggling to get up, Amur keeping their foes at bay, Spinner trying to slink up on the other side. It looked bad, but it could have been worse. "No, not yet," she answered Clara, jostling Sapphire while she dug in her bag. "Item!" She yelled loud enough for Neil to hear.
"Sure thing!" Neil blew a shrill whistle. Each creature froze, no movement except for Amur's tail and paws still aflame. Vivi ran onto the field, a shiny medal in one hand and a bundle of tree bark in the other.
Marguerite sneered. "Hmph, what kind of quaint country idea is this?"
Vivi handed the medal to Neil, not saying anything else as she walked to Rary.
"Oh, hi," Rary said slowly. "Thanks for noticing me."
"Silly old griffon," Vivi muttered. She set the bark on his back like it was a table while smashing the leaves together with her hands until they became a sticky mess. This she pressed against Rary's bruised fur, capping it with the bark. Lastly, she secured the poultice with a piece of rope that looked to be many assorted cordages all tied together.
Marguerite was still chuckling to herself while Clara fumed nearby. She said a quick prayer that she could make her point while still being nice, then approached the prim girl.
"Hey, Marguerite, do you have a bottle of Vitalixir?"
Her eyebrows turned down, then up again, the opportunity to show off evidently pleasing her. "Of course, I order them by the case directly from the manufacturer." She fished around in her clutch bag. "I only provide the best, modern, care for my creature…" Bottles clinked as she named them, "Poisaclens, Glubegone, Noburn…and of course, Vitalixir." She held up a small blue bottle with an elegant bend of her wrist.
"Oh good," Clara said. "So, can you read me the ingredients? Just the first one is fine."
Marguerite looked suspicious for a moment, but read off: "Lirio…dendron tulipifera leaf extract…"
Clara turned to the boy handlers nearby, who were watching Vivi minister to her creature. "Hey LJ, what's the common name for liriodendron tulipifera?"
"Um…er…tulip tree."
"Huh. And if you wanted tulip tree leaves, where would you go to get them?"
"Oh, my cousin's farm, for sure. They grow all over the place there."
Marguerite was still frowning, so Clara followed up with: "And who's your cousin?"
LJ raised his eyebrow very slowly. "Um…Vivi is?"
Clara tilted her head at Marguerite and smiled.
Marg looked down at Clara and glared. Neither girl said anything else.
Vivi tied off the rope on the poultice and helped Rary to all four of his feet. "You're doing great, just watch the counterattacks. Try from the side next time."
"Rary…" he replied, nuzzling his handler with his beak.
Neil waited until Vivi was back behind the fence before blowing the whistle again. Rary darted forward, the pain in his shoulder almost completely gone now. His double-talon swipe hit the ground instead, as Halcyon sidestepped with a clatter of hooves.
The rest of the battle was furious, ice and flames flying alongside beams of light and cutting wind. The four handlers and the one spectator watched in silence, grimacing with each hit and clapping with each success.
"Rary!" Amur roared. "I need more oxygen!"
"Oh boy!"
Amur stoked his flames, blazing up tall just like he did in the forests of the night. Rary dashed behind, as close as he could stand, then flapped his wings, forcing air into the conflagration. Fire licked at their opponents, streams of orange and red bending where Rary directed them. Halcyon backed away from the makeshift flamethrower, leaving Spinner to take the heat.
Ultimately, it proved to be too much. The armored dog fell to his side, growling out: "I give up!"
Amur roared triumphantly as he blew aside his remaining heat. He edged up to Halcyon alongside Rary, whispering strategy, when the call of "Item!" came up once again.
Marguerite held up her hand, a pink beacon in the arena space. All three creatures breathed heavily as she daintily rushed toward her winged horse. They whispered together, but Rary couldn't hear a mouse on the other end of the field for nothing.
"It's time," Marguerite said, spraying a bottle of Vitalixir over Halcyon's cuts and scrapes.
"Are you sure?" he nickered back.
"Absolutely. We cannot afford to lose."
Halcyon dipped his head. "As you say, miss."
The whistle blew again, and Halcyon wasted no time. He reared up on his hind legs, spreading white wings like moonlight and whinnying fiercely. A pure radiance poured out of him, coating the arena, the two remaining combatants, and everyone else. Rary thought to run to Vivi, but he couldn't think of much else before succumbing to a forceful, overwhelming sleep.
Oy, a cliffhanger! What will happen to our overly optimistic hero now? And Amur, don’t forget about him. Fortunately the next installment will be here much sooner than you think, but if even that is too long, visit ZMT Books to find out how to read the whole story right now.