Chapter Title: Induction
Word Count: 1,784
Note: Italics indicate spoken Tamaranean language.
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How the hell did she do it?
He never could have imagined how difficult it had been for Starfire when she first came to Earth. She may have similar enough anatomy, but the food, the clothing, and even the furniture – okay, especially the furniture – was insanely different between their planets. More than one time he had to ask her which oddity in the en suite was a toilet. Water was scarce, so showers were mere minutes long and it was not safe to drink what little water there was. Robin found himself hoping his digestive system could handle the zorka berry juice or some milk-like substance that came from who knows where on a slug-like creature that Starfire had called an o'poda. It was better not to think of how certain food items were obtained. Unlike Starfire, he did not wish to watch a documentary on anything remotely related to the milking of the underground dwelling o'poda.
All of this, plus the fact that he knew less Tamaranean words than he had fingers on one hand, and it led to a lot of confusion over the first two days on the planet. She had managed so gracefully when she arrived on Earth with nothing but the clothes on her back, and here he was nearly getting crushed by things he thought were chairs that turned out to be carnivorous house plants.
He better understood why stainless steel mechanical items like the fridge or toaster had frightened her at first. Coming from a planet where everything is mineral, vegetable, or animal only with no abundance of metallic alloys, the cold tower contraptions vastly differed from the slightly fungal looking furniture found in her quarters. The scarce few metallic compounds they had were reserved for weapon-making, Starfire had explained.
She had the advantage of knowing the language, he had to remind himself in the small moments of self pity. But still, it was no surprise to him to find out how little confidence he had in navigating someone else's culture and home world. She also was a far more patient teacher. He rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment thinking back to all the times during their first few months that he'd just told her "That's the way it is," instead of explaining things. She was giving him as much information as she could and never grew irritable with his constant confusion. Even with her life potentially on the line, she was a much better guide.
He'd ask what the guards would say as they'd walk down the long castle halls, his arm linked with hers or on the small of her back. With everything else making him feel lost, he found some grounding in maintaining contact with his one point of comfort. She was his parachute among the free-fall.
Whether she was saving him from anger or embarrassment, Starfire generally shrugged in response, her green eyes often alight and glaring at particularly bold and outspoken guard members.
Robin caught the cautious regard or outright sneers of the guard members out of his peripheral vision throughout the first few days. Finally he simply had to know why he was being treated as such a derelict.
"Um...Star?"
She sighed looking at him. It was difficult to explain the interplanetary relations her home world faced to someone whose entire life had been lived on one plentiful planet. 'Voyagers only took to the sea when there wasn't enough to eat' was something her mother often said before Tamaran's ecosystem was destroyed.
"They do not like the idea of a princess dating an outworlder. The universe generally does not regard us kindly so we tend to distrust other species. We keep to ourselves whenever possible." She shrugged hoping he wouldn't press for follow up.
He sensed her weariness and merely draped an arm over her shoulders as they walked. Let them talk. He was hers and he was happy.
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Finally the first round of the tournament was to begin. The thirty competitors took to the arena dressed in plain white uniforms.
"As the tournament progresses they will be awarded purple uniforms and then finally the top two will be awarded black uniforms." Starfire explained. "White shows weakness. Any drop of blood will be seen."
Robin nodded silently. He was trying to refrain from touching her, knowing she needed to have full attention on the competitors today. The sooner the competition ended, the sooner they could return to Earth, and right now he really missed Earth. What he wouldn't give for a hamburger…
"Competitors, select your weapon." An announcer called out instructions.
Robin watched as the thirty scrambled and flew in an effort to secure a the best weapon. Or rather the best weapon for themselves, he noted, as not all seemed to be vying for the same pieces of equipment.
"Their training differs based on their caste and upbringing." Starfire noted sensing his unspoken question.
He watched with curious expression. The faceless man opted for a set of curved swords, one balanced delicately in each hand; he had been the first to the table so he had secured his choice. Robin wondered how that choice related to social status in this society.
Starfire made notes on a small pad in her lap. Each competitor had a number, names were not assigned to deter favoritism of a certain family line. She ranked them in two parts, first on their weapon of choice and next on their comfort level holding it.
Several of the women had chosen items that resembled broadswords of various thickness and weight. A few competitors had chosen items that resembled axes; the most comfortable among them with broad shoulders likely suited for high overhead swings. The only one not to grab a blunt weapon or a sword was a petite woman in high heels where the spike of her heel resembled a dagger. Robin had noticed her early arrival to the table and was surprised to see her weapon of choice was a set of small, jet black projectiles, an uncommon choice as he knew many Tameranean's favored hand to hand combat and capitalized on their brute force. Projectiles showed intent to dodge and fight from afar, something Starfire was versed in, but only because of the Psions "gift" of starbolts. Still the dark haired woman in heels seemed confident in her choice and seemed to almost play with the projectiles tossing them brazenly between hands.
"An interesting choice, is it not?" Starfire cut into his thoughts.
"Yeah...Any idea who she is?"
"Projectile training is generally only reserved for royalty, but she is not anyone I recognize." Starfire shrugged.
"That doesn't make you worry? It seems suspicious to me." Robin added.
"Some families attempt to train their children in projectiles to up their status; we will have to see how she fares in using them."
A display of weapon mastery was done by each competitor stepping up to a line in the sand at the front of the ring as they did so. In the first display, Tamaranean shaped targets were brought out and handling was assessed by force of the strike as well as the point of strike. The second display was projectile targets fired into the air to assess weapon's prowess while mid-flight. Robin noted that it was a double-edged sword to have arrived late to the table, the weapon's display quickly proved who had truly gotten their best weapon. The woman in heels was the last to step up, having been deliberately placed at the end to evoke crowd interest.
Her projectiles thrown with confidence and force and each landing on fatal markers on the fabric Tamaranean target. The airborne projectile's proved to be just as effective in the second round of target practice; the crowd watched with awe as the woman floated in the air with eyes closed and still hit every target.
"A perfect score." Starfire noted smiling warmly.
"Doesn't that worry you? You don't recognize her and she flawlessly executed weaponry that you said was reserved for royalty."
Starfire merely shrugged. "She will have other tasks to face. Some families prepare for this possibility, moreso after Blackfire's banishment and my feelings for you…" Starfire blushed mildly.
Robin looked at her curiously.
"It was very obvious to my people I would not be returning to Tamaran when I left Galfore in charge…"
He could press her no further on what she meant by that as the break between rounds was over. The third round was sparring where competitors were moved in a bracket style system where the first sign of blood loss was considered losing the spar. And Starfire had not lied...The white uniforms showed a lot of blood.
Unsurprising to the crowd the final two to face off were the faceless man and the woman in heels. She navigated through the air dodging his two swords and trying to put distance between them, but he stayed in her range to the point where any projectile she fired didn't have time or distance to amass the speed needed for injury enough to break Tamaranean skin. Her competitor dropped one sword to the ground and used that as distraction to catch her off-guard enough for a skin-breaking slash to the arm. He was declared the victor of the sparring ring while she had won the weaponry display. As they returned to the ground Robin watched the masked man clasp the woman in heel's uninjured arm tightly and she returned this gesture clasping his opposite arm.
"What does that mean?" Robin queried studying the pair.
"The warrior in me acknowledges the warrior in you. It is not camaraderie, but rather a fighter's kinship." Starfire smiled knowing she had done the same gesture to Robin before every spar for the first several months of her stay on Earth. He'd never asked about it until now just assuming it was a pre-spar action much like a bow.
The losing two, a man and woman who had been last to the table to select their weapons which had set them up for failure in the later rounds, gracefully saluted the audience before both yelling a cry of allegiance in Tamaranean.
As Robin and Starfire retreated to her quarters, he noticed her demeanor shift. Sure she was still probably the target of an intended assassination, but seeing her people's strength seemed to have warmed her spirits today.
If only every day on Tamaran could be as nice as this one, however Robin knew that luck was a bit thin around here so he needed to remain on guard.
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- FWFT