It wasn't a secret that Hody was rather prideful.

And why wouldn't he be? He had so many things to be proud of. His strength, his royal blood, his waterfolk heritage. He'd been gifted with a great many things from birth.

Unfortunately, having so much pride meant than when it was hurt that he really felt it. And being brought down at one of the biggest tournaments in front of his entire kingdom was pretty damn painful.

Fum had followed through with his promise to enter the next tournament in the waterfolk kingdom, which just happened to be the second largest one of the year, Wave Crash. Hody had gone in as prepared as he possibly could. He'd come up with a plan to flood the arena and get the giant in the water, using his lack of swimming ability to his advantage. And for just a brief moment, it seemed like it was going to work.

But then, out of nowhere, the damned giant had turned everything around. He altered the terrain of the ring with one swing of his hammer, and then took Hody down with a single strike. The last thing he had remembered was his fist heading towards him, and then suddenly he was waking up in the infirmary.

To his shock, he didn't have any injuries. But that was apparently because Astro had convinced Bloom to come. He'd apparently foreseen what was going to happen, and knew Hody would be in pretty bad shape. From the way Breeze and Slick had been talking, so had they.

It infuriated him. To be not only defeated, but to be written off by them so casually. There was a time where he was considered the strongest, and even when they'd showed up he was still a top contender. But now… it seemed as if every day the gap between them grew wider and wider, and it drove him mad.

While he was being treated, he'd managed to hear some of their conversation. Coral and Dottie had commented on how he put up a good fight, which honestly felt more like pity than anything else. Astro and Breeze were lecturing Fum about how he should have made the fight look closer. As not to embarrass him, and bruise his ego.

Ironically it was Fum's words that irked him the least. The boy had stated that as a both a giant and warrior it would have been insulting to the both of them to hold back, even if it was to save face. Of course even then, both Astro and Slick didn't miss the chance to flash smug smirks towards him. And Breeze didn't even bother to look his way.

But it was the words Slick had spoken to his sister before they'd realized he'd woken up that still rang in his head.

"You're brother is good and all but, he ain't like us. At the end of the day he's average. No matter how hard he tries, he's only ever gonna be as good as a normal guy can get."

He balled his fist up, so tightly it looked like he would draw blood. The words irritated him obviously, but the fact that none of the others bothered to speak against him was even more infuriating. "Damn slimeball…" he muttered.

Slick never held back about his dislike or disrespect, and it always irked him. But those words in particular really cut away at him. He wasn't saying it like it was an insult. He was saying it just like he was stating a simple fact. And honestly… he was starting to fear that it was.

Ever since Astro had showed up, he'd planned on beating him and proving that his reign at the strongest was nothing but a fluke. That the Waterfolk were the true superior race, and that he was the greatest warrior among them. But as time passed, he could never quite reach him. And to add insult to injury, others ended up passing him as well.

Was Slick right? Were he and the other Calamities just… born stronger? Was it really just pointless for him to try and catch up to them? It was starting to feel more and more like it every time they crossed paths.

"Yo big boy, you're looking like you're getting way into your own head."

He looked over his shoulder and saw Topaz making her way onto the balcony. This was just great. Here he was trying to brood and lick his wounds, and the woman had to come along and start pestering him. "I'm not in the mood woman…"

"You're still sulking about what happened?" she asked, making her way next to him. "Fum did give you a pretty hardcore ass kicking."

Hody narrowed his eyes. "What part of not in the mood did you not understand?"

She took a seat and then stretched her arms out and yawned. "I mean, I got all of it. But sitting here letting you beat yourself up really isn't my idea of helping," she said. She knew if someone didn't come and snap him out of it he'd be like this for who knows how long. "I'm not going anywhere, so may as well get it off your chest."

Despite her quips, she knew that this was really bothering him. The others wrote his attitude off as his usual self. But she, like his sister and parents, could tell this loss hit him deeper than he wanted to let on. She sort of understood how he was feeling, and she knew it was better for him to vent instead of bottle it up. "Talk to me."

The prince slammed his fist on the balcony. "I can't beat them!" he said angrily. "I've now fought all four of them! The first three Numerous times! And instead of getting closer, I just get further and further away!"

Topaz frowned. "What? You looked like you were putting up a pretty good-"

"What fight were you watching?" Hody asked. "I didn't even put a scratch on him. Sea Spike bounced right off of his skin, and when I tried to bite him…" He'd chipped a couple of teeth. Afterwards he'd plucked them out and they grew right back like usual, but the fact that he couldn't do any damage to him at all just bothered him.

The fire nymph shrugged. "Giants are known for being tough right?"

"I had him in the water, and I couldn't get it done! He just… he turned everything around on me in an instant! I didn't even have the edge in magic!"

"Hody, you know Fum-"

"It's not just the giant baby!" Hody said angrily. "It's all of them! The bastard and the little savage girl somehow always manage to outmaneuver and overpower me, and I can't even touch that fool Slick! What the hell do I have to do to-?!"

Topaz elbowed him in his side rather roughly, cutting him off. "Damn big boy, I know I said get it off your chest, but let me at least say a little something," she said scowling. "I know you didn't win, and I know you got a losing streak against these guys, but that doesn't mean you should just give up."

"Well just how many times should I lose before I give up then?" Hody asked.

"Never," she said bluntly. "If you put a number on it then you'll never be able to do it. You know how many times Sputter has challenged me to a fight?"

Hody winced. "Good god no…" The boy popped up within the castle so many times he'd lost count. He didn't even know how he got here sometimes. The very thought of having someone that annoying and persistent after him made him shutter. "I'm sure even you've lost count at this point."

"And do you know how many times he's given up?" she asked. Hody raised an eyebrow at her. He somewhat saw where she was going with this, but he didn't exactly like being compared to Sputter. "Not once. Because that kid really does believe that he's gonna be the biggest badass in the tribe some day."

"Don't compare me to Sputter…"

She punched his arm. "You get my point," she said. "You can't roll over and give up. Because if ya do, then it really is over. You gotta believe one hundred percent you can do it, no matter how many people think or say you can't. Otherwise you won't."

Hody grunted. He… supposed she was right. This rut of his had shaken his confidence, but if he let himself get stuck in it he'd never be able to triumph over them. "And you?" he asked suddenly. "What do you think?" he asked. He hadn't heard her outside when he was in the infirmary. She hadn't spoken for or against what the others said.

Topaz smirked. "I think that as long as I'm behind you giving you a good kick in the ass and keeping you on track, you can do anything. So you know, your welcome for all your future success," she said, crossing her arms.

Hody rolled his eyes, and then began to stand up. "C'mon woman, we need to get going," he said.

She looked at him confused as she got up and walked alongside him. "Where we going? Gonna get some training in for next time?" she asked.

"Later. Right now I still have some aggression leftover, and I'm going to work it out on that rump of yours," he said, giving her a hard smack on the rear. "So get moving."

Topaz winced, and then smirked up at him. "You got it big boy…"

A/N: Topaz helping Hody get over a slump with some encouraging words (and a little bit of that booty). Yeah, got to figure Hody doubts himself every now and then since with how much he's tried and failed to take down the Calamities. But that he's the only one still actually seriously trying does say something about him.