Chapter 76: The Finals

Roars erupted as the Vulhardrin fox woman landed the decisive blow. She’d been set up against the other guy Ann had been worried about, and with that hit, she was clinched to be her next match.

Kat and Sybil were deep in a conversation on the finer points of using their defensive skills. Sybil had described hers as a sort of slippery force field, whereas Kat’s was more of a force that reduced impact. It wasn’t a huge distinction to Ann, but the two seemed to think it was, so she was happy to let them nerd out.

Rosalyn had started paying attention to the conversation, but had lost track after the point where they started getting into muscle reflexes versus mental alacrity, in erecting the defences, and was now focused on the ring. She let out a cheer, raising her small fist in the air as the fox landed her hit and skipped around the ring in celebration.

“Ooh, she’s gonna be a tough one, Ann,” Rosalyn whistled. “She fights a lot like you, but more light on her feet, and then she gets all heavy. Definitely a fighter’s Path. Hope you win. I mean, I know you’ll win, but still, it’s crazy how good she is.”

“Eh, she’s got openings,” Kat said, pulling herself out of her conversation with Sybil. “That heavy point you’re talkin’ about? She slows down when she does. If ye can dodge ‘er hits, that’ll be the time tae hit ‘er back. Tricky part is she’s good at timin’ ‘er hits. An’ ye’ve got no defensive skills.”

“Yeah, been working over that,” Ann muttered, not pulling her eyes off her next opponent. “I’m probably going to need to make an embarrassment out of myself.”

“An embarrassment?” Sybil asked, cocking her horns.

Ann just held up a hand. “You’ll see. Probably. Hopefully not, but probably.”

“Aye, tha’ could work. Get ‘er tae pause fer a moment. Might freak ‘er out a li’l but that’d work tae yer advantage.”

Ann nodded. She’d been saving Predatory Sensuality for later, since she knew the fights were going to be tougher. She’d almost used it on Sybil, but managed to win without it. This was for all the beans, though, so it was time to put it all on the line. “I’m gonna be real popular with people after this,” she sighed. “Kinda wish I’d used Mutation before this, so I wouldn’t be as recognisable.”

“Well, it’s too late now,” Rosalyn said, leaning up against her arm, bony horn pressed into her bicep. “You should have a couple uses of Stoke the Flames too, so keep that in mind. Plus, like, what, three or four uses of Smite?”

“Four,” Ann confirmed, checking her sheet. “And Burst of Speed. I almost used it against Sybil, but that’s a one and done spell unless, well, the recharge requirements.”

“Yup,” Rosalyn agreed, wiggling against Ann. “Might have been able to use it.”

“And you’d recharge it?” Ann teased, flicking Rosalyn’s forehead.

“I… um, well…” Rosalyn stammered. “Or Kat, or me, I guess. Maybe both of us? I don’t know.”

“I’m just going to assume this is something private,” Sybil laughed, sitting back against the wall.

“A bit, yeah,” Ann shrugged. “Just details most people’d be uncomfortable with.”

“Ah, no worries. I’m a city girl. Been around for a while and seen my share of things. But if you’re not comfortable, it’s all fine,” Sybil responded in that unflappably cheery voice.

“Good to know,” Ann said, giving her a side-eyed glance. “Ugh, at least the healers got me back to full health. Crazy how fast that happened, too.”

“Aye, they get some good experience down ‘ere,” Kat observed. “From what they’ve told me, it’s a pretty common spot. Newer healers tend tae the beginners while the stronger go tae the more advanced. Bren’s never done it though. Doesn’t like the crowd an’ the vibe.”

“Yeah, this is definitely not his place,” Rosalyn nodded.

“Annita Kronforst to the ring!” the referee called into the stands.

“Guess I’m up. Oh man, I’m feeling nervous,” Ann chuckled. “Wish me luck?”

“No need fer it, but sure,” Kat said, before grabbing Ann’s shirt and pulling her into a fierce kiss.

Ann lost track of the world around them for a second, and parted lips, panting.

“Knock ‘er dead.”

“Good luck!” Rosalyn cheered, hopping up and giving Ann a quick peck on the lips before plopping back down.

As Ann made her way down the stairs, she heard Sybil faintly behind her. “Wait, both of you?”

Grinning in self indulgent pride, Ann stalked to the gate, and hopped it as she had every other time she’d gotten in the ring. Cheers erupted at her entrance, and she waved to the audience.

The fox woman hadn’t left after the last bout, and was sitting cross-legged in the sand. She had her eyes closed and her breathing was steady. Meditating, most likely.

She was a grey fox, with silvery hair that matched the fur on her ears and tail, which was capped with a black tip. She had a slight build with well defined muscles and a couple scars on her exposed sides. Ann stood there, taking a moment to appreciate her petite chest and abs, and how they moved when she breathed.

She walked up, crouching down. “Ann, nice to meet you,” she said in a friendly tone, holding out her hand. “Been watching your fights. Gotta admit, you’re damn good.”

“Kearan,” the Vulhardrin replied. “And likewise. It’s easy to tell who has real fighting experience, and you’re definitely one of them.”

“Tackled a seed or two,” Ann said with a grunt as she sat in front of Kearan. The referee was still stalling, allowing for bets to be made before the match started. “Still pretty used to fighting with my hands, though. I was using a sword until recently.”

“Then you have a good path, and good stats to back it up,” Kearan said flatly. “But, no, there’s more to it. I have a feeling you’ve not shown us everything you can do. A flashy punch here and there, and then that attention trick are the only things I’ve seen you actively do.”

“Maybe? Maybe not,” Ann said, shrugging. “You’ll just have to find out."

With that, Kearan returned to her meditation. Ann sat there, listening. It was noisy, but she could still pick out conversations about the fight and who was favoured to win by the bookkeeper’s hollers. Seemed to be pretty even odds. With Ann being an unknown and Kearan’s obvious skill, people weren’t sure on who the victor would be.

“Bets are closed!” the bookkeeper shouted, her voice loud and clear over the crowd. Ann idly wondered if she was using some kind of skill to make herself heard.

“Ladies, gentlemen, and everything in between!” the referee called, drawing attention as she strode around the ring. “We’ve got a hell of a fight for you tonight! Two Vulhardrin enter the ring and only one will leave the victor! We have Kearan Stroud! The foxy fighter who floats like a Viperwasp and stings like one too! Then we’ve got a newcomer, Annita Kronforst! A wild wolf of a woman, who’s been drawing eyes for more than just her fighting prowess. Don’t let her sink those claws into you, or you’re finished!”

The cheers as each of them seemed to be about equal. Ann grunted, standing, with Kearan doing so as well.

“All right, you two!” the Thrundol referee called to the fighters. “I won’t waste time going over the rules again. Just put your all into it. This is the one that matters!”

Ann held out a fist, and Kearan tapped her own against it. They’d slug this one out. No ground work, no rolling around in the sand. Ann could feel her heart racing at the idea. This was the kind of fight she loved.

Both fighters retreated to a respectful distance as the ref counted them down.

“Fight!”

Neither woman wasted time. Sand flew as they met in the centre of the ring. Ann threw a right and so did Kearan. Both hit the other’s shoulder, drawing grunts, and forcing both fighters to stagger back.

Ann grinned, flashing sharp teeth as she started bouncing on her paws. They were evenly matched, and she couldn’t be happier.

Kearan feinted with a lunge to the left, but ducked back to the right, aiming for an uppercut to Ann’s midsection.

Ann had seen the move before, blocking it with a hand and trying to drive an elbow into Kearan’s face.

Kearan hadn’t over committed to her blow and ducked her head to the side, causing the elbow to glance off her back. It was still a hit, but nowhere near what Ann wanted.

Ann shifted her feet, drawing her left foot back as she ducked down, preparing to strike at her smaller opponent, when Kearan darted back faster than she had before. Some sort of skill, Ann guessed. She didn’t have time to clock more of what was happening before Kearan zipped around to her side, followed by an impact that rattled her teeth.

Gasping, Ann pulled back. That was the fighting style she’d seen before and holy shit, it hurt as much as she thought it would.

Ann growled, forcing herself to move, and dashed at Kearan. Her first wild swing met empty air as the Vulpine woman skipped away faster than she’d been moving before. She was testing Ann, getting a feel for her speed before committing to too much. Shit, she was smart.

Ann took a defensive stance, raising her arms and keeping her body facing her opponent.

Kearan dashed left and right, trying to outmaneuver her. She had a hard time of it, with Ann purely focused on guarding.

“Come on,” Ann growled under her breath. “Hit me.”

Kearan’s legs flexed, her shoulders tensed, and she moved in for a hit.

Ann caught the dainty fist on her right arm, the impact shaking her, and countered with her left. Kearan was ready for the counter, but Ann was just fast enough to tag her shoulder with an open palm. Grinning madly, she sank her claws in and used the leverage to drive her right fist into Kearan’s chest.

Kearan grunted, and tried to fall back, but Ann had caught the elusive fighter and wasn’t going to let her go that easily. Pulling her right back, she punched again, putting a Smite behind it.

Kearan cried out in pain, and wrenched her shoulder free, blood streaming from several cuts, but she didn’t yield. She stood there, bouncing on her toes, but not making any moves to attack.

As Ann watched, the cuts on her shoulder began to close. Flesh knit together and after a moment it was like she’d never had claws dug into her shoulder.

“You can heal?” Ann asked with exasperation.

“Yes. What, didn’t notice the healers hardly paid attention to me?” Kearan taunted.

“No fair.”

Ann charged again. Kearan was ready and skipped away. She knew she was faster. She had the upper hand on single blows, too. Ann was way better when she could get in and keep hitting.

It was smart. Kearan could tire her out and then deliver the coup de grâce. If Ann could keep up that speed against a heavier opponent, it’s probably what she’d try to do.

Again, Ann charged, hurling a wild left toward the space Kearan had occupied just a moment ago. This time she pretended to stagger, acting like she’d thrown all her weight behind the swing.

Kearan’s eyes lit up, and she darted in. As soon as she planted her feet to punch, Ann twisted. Taking full advantage of her Dexterity she spun on one paw, landed on both feet and slammed the heel of her palm into Kearan’s gut. Unfortunately, she took a good hit to her shoulder in return, but the move was already a risky gambit. She could deal with that.

Both fighters moved back, taking stock of each other.

“What a fight!” the ref cheered to the crowds. “Looks like we’ve got an even match here. Kearan’s healing, speed and heavy hits are being countered by Annita’s focus and willingness to trade blows! Who knows how this will turn out?”

Ann desperately wanted to glance into the stands. To find her girlfriends and see their reactions, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Kearan for a moment. The Vulpine’s dusky grey eyes hadn’t left her for a moment, and she felt trapped by that gaze. Normally, she’d love having such an attractive woman staring at her, but this one was trying to knock her out.

“Gods, you hit hard,” Ann panted, standing up to her full height and trying to steady her breath.

Sensing a lull in the battle, Kearan relaxed slightly, but didn’t let her guard down. “You too. You can move that massive body of yours quite well.”

Well, now’s the time, I guess, Ann thought, inwardly cringing.

“Maybe later I can show you how well I can really move this body,” she purred, bending over and using a claw to pull down the front of her shirt, exposing ample cleavage. While doing so, and licking her lips suggestively, she activated Predatory Sensuality.

The effect was immediate. She wasn’t sure if it was even the skill, but Kearan blushed, eyes immediately locked on Ann’s tits. Her rhythmic bouncing faltered, and she landed on both feet as she stared for a brief moment.

That was all Ann needed. She charged back in and hit Kearan square in the jaw, putting her second Smite of the fight into the hit.

Kearan was sent reeling to the side. To her credit, she didn’t cradle her jaw, but fell back into a defensive stance. A defensive stance. The first time this fight she’d been on her back foot.

Ann took the advantage gleefully and started raining blows down on the smaller woman’s guard. She used her claws, fists, and even a couple kicks to batter Kearan to and fro as they circled the sandpit.

After a few seconds of this, Kearan’s body flashed, and she was gone. The momentary blindness from the bright light allowing her to slip into Ann’s blind spot.

A small but powerful fist drove into her kidney, drawing a cry of pain from Ann’s lips as she staggered forward, trying to round on the woman. Kearan didn’t let up. Two more hits bounced off Ann’s forearm and shoulder. Glancing but still painful.

She checked her health. She was at 102 out of her normal 300. Cursing, she realised this couldn’t go on much longer.

She dug deep and activated Burst of Speed for the first time in a real fight, and charged.

Kearan’s eyes went wide as she sluggishly tracked Ann’s increased speed. Two hits landed on her chest before she could even react, and by the time she did, Ann was already behind her. One more hit to the left of Kearan’s back, with a smite enhancing its damage this time.

Ann moved back. Her own brain struggled to keep up with her speed, so she was moving on pre-planned movements and letting her body take over.

A hit to the side, one to the head, two to the left arm that looked bruised. She spent two seconds out of her remaining four planning, then went in and executed her plan.

Kearan barely twisted away in time to mitigate the hit to her side, but the other two hits struck true. She spent her third Smite. Instead of falling back, she drew up close to Kearan, pressing their bodies together as Burst of Speed ended. Slowly, she traced a clawed fingertip along the other woman’s jaw line, urging her gaze to meet hers. “I would ravish you,” she whispered, then activated Predatory Sensuality again and grinned as she watched Kearan’s eyes lose their focus.

Caught in the daze, Kearan didn’t react fast enough to Ann ducking down, then putting her full strength behind a smite enhanced uppercut straight to her chin.

Ann’s hit lifted the woman off her feet, sending her flying a couple inches before she landed heavily on her back, out cold.

She stood there, panting, fists still raised as she looked down on Kearan’s unmoving body. She felt tired. Exhausted, even. Honestly, she wasn’t sure how she was still standing, and she could hear nothing but her own heartbeat.

The roar of the crowd hit her like a physical force. She staggered backwards, caught by Kat’s strong arms, as she lost her balance, and was lowered to the ground.

“By Orenous’ tits, ye did it!” Kat cheered, hugging her close. “Feck, ye had me worried fer a minute there.” She grabbed Ann’s face and kissed her. “Well feckin’ done.”

“She ok?” Ann said, struggling against her exhaustion to sit up and check on Kearan.

The healer was already with the woman, restoring her to her prime. “She’ll be fine,” the woman said with a sigh. “Oh, good morning. Sorry, but you lost this one.”

Kearan sat up, groaning. “Gods, that hurt.”

“Sorry,” Ann said with a sheepish grin. “I kinda played dirty there.”

Kearan blushed, seemingly remembering what had been said right before she got knocked out. “I… um… was that, um. What was that?”

“Holy hells,” Kat whistled. “How hard did ye lay it on?”

“Told her I’d ravish her?” Ann shrugged, looking up at Kat.

“Mmm, tryin’ tae skip out on me now?” the Alfhindur growled.

“I’d share?” Ann said defensively. She knew Kat liked women as much as she did, but had no clue how she’d react to a situation like this. Honestly, besides Riva who’d practically thrown herself at her, and Rosalyn, who’d been sort of pre-discussed as joining their pairing, it was the first time she’d hit on another woman outside their relationship.

She waited for a moment, watching Kat’s expression. A few different emotions flitted through that face, and she didn’t need Lover’s Intuition to read them. Some insecurity, fear, maybe a little excitement, intrigue?

“Kat, it was a joke,” Ann reassured her partner. “Remember our promise.”

“Aye. Sorry,” Kat sighed. “Sorry, I’m so hung up on this.”

“No apologies. Only when and if you and Rosalyn are ready.”

“Aye. Aye. Well, feck. Think we’ll see ‘ow I feel after tomorrow’s, er, meeting.”

“Plus, this is a really weird place to be having this talk,” Rosalyn piped up. “Come on, you’re in the middle of a sandpit and just won the entire tournament! Ann you’re amazing!”

Ann laughed as she was tackled by her sheepy lover, holding her close. “Thanks. Yeah, bad time.”

Standing, and dragging Rosalyn with her, as the woman wouldn’t let her go, she offered a hand to Kearan. The woman hesitated for a moment, then took it.

“Sorry if I got you all confused there. It’s part of my Path.”

“I…” Kearan faltered. “No hard feelings. It was a good fight. I… might need to think about a few things after this?”

“Hey. Just so you know, if I weren’t in this whole thing,” Ann gestured to Rosalyn and Kat, “Well, yeah. Just gonna leave it there.”

“Fair enough,” Kearan sighed, gathering herself. “Good match. Very well done. I have a feeling I’ll be seeing you in the intermediate division next time.”

“Me too,” Ann laughed.

She waved as Kearan made room for the ref to declare Ann the winner. Cheers echoed through the space as people celebrated her victory, as well as the money they’d won off her fight.

Ann felt a twinge. Something in her had reached a limit. She staggered, panting, eyes losing focus as she slumped slightly. Kat’s arms caught her, steadying. Those strong, sexy arms. Those beautiful muscles she loved so much. A growl escaped her lips unbidden, and when she looked up at Kat, her vision was tinted purple.