Cearbhail:

So, in this chapter we get to see what happens between Pra'ja and Talia. It's a spicy chapter. Just not Novapenyo spicy.

[Pra'ja Vanderma]

As soon as the Arch Mage made the call to start the match, both Talia and I vanished into our puffs of Shadow. I Shadowported out into the middle of the combat square, looking around for her to pop out of somewhere. I heard her pop out to my left. When I turned to look, she was already gone, leaving behind only a small puff of dark mist in her wake. Time for me to vanish too.

I closed my eyes, jumping into a series of pops. Each time I jumped out, I jumped right back in. That was how this game was going to be played. Just a big game of Shadow Tag.

"Let me guess…" I heard right behind me. Talia was right behind me, almost placing her head on my left shoulder.

I jumped right into a Shadowport.

"You never learned how to track Shadowsteps… have you?" Right behind me again. Same spot.

I jumped into three Shadowports, travelling the corners of the fighting ring.

As I came to my fourth stop, I felt hands covering my breasts.

"Ooh… plump. Full of sap. Nice." Talia gave my girls a tight squeeze. "Wait…" She squeezed again.

I vanished into a Shadowport. When I reappeared, Talia was in front of me. She was looking me up and down. "You're… I barely even recognized the signs… this isn't your first body, is it?"

I vanished into another portal. When I reappeared, Talia had her hand touching my… um… sensitive area.

"Wow… you're definitely in a new body." Talia was almost laughing.

"Hey!" I screamed. I jumped into the air, not vanishing into a Shadowport this time. It was more instinctual. "Don't touch there…"

"Let me guess…" Talia tapped her chin. "It's still tender? Takes a good year, doesn't it? Getting used to the cramps… the muscular pain… the random fits of Shadow reforming itself to cooperate with your new form." Talia gave me a wag of her finger as she addressed my body. "Even though you went through a few months of excruciating exercise and training… I still see sparkling scales. How long? Four months along? Getting used to the extra baggage yet?" Talia gave me a knowing smirk. "Have you tried out your new toy yet? Or… does it still hurt when you pee?"

"Only when I drink anything other than water." I replied. She knew. She knew everything.

"So… I'm guessing you haven't tried it out yet."

"I'm waiting for my girlfriend." I replied.

Talia nodded. "Oh… you're a virgin. Even better." She stuck out two fingers. "Want me to give you a test run? Show you all the nice spots?"

I felt every scale rise. "Like I said… I'm waiting for my girlfriend."

Talia's mouth broke into a wide mischievous smirk. "Oh?"

With a snap of Talia's fingers, the entire arena around us exploded into Shadow.

"I can respect that… I guess." Talia said with a smirk.

"Can we just… have a normal match?" I asked. I was hoping I could get out of this match without Talia shaming me in front of everyone.

"Now, what fun would that be?" Talia replied. "You and I… we're not like the others. In more ways than one. We're pranksters. We pull pranks on other people. We can't expect that others won't prank us back. It's all part of the game. And right now… we're the perfect karma for each other." Talia almost broke into a laugh. "How about we add some stakes to this fight of ours?"

Oh no…

"We'll fight… but when one of us loses… the winner has the right to do whatever she wants to the other…" Talia's violet and grey eyes were glaring at me. "If I win… I will strip you bare in front of your friends. I'll slowly and methodically strip you naked in front of everyone. You seem very tense. The only solution for that, to create a situation where you have no choice but to act. I'm better than you. You know it, I know it. Everyone knows it. And so… we're going to play a game. You run, you fight. You try to win. But every time I get my hands on you… I take your clothing. Small pieces of it at a time. But methodically, I will rip your clothes off. You can try to take mine too, if you like. But once I have your clothes, I will expect you to forfeit. Give up. Announce you're a poser, a loser. And then do the loser dance. The little teapot dance. While naked."

I brought up my fists. "And if I win?"

Talia shrugged. "Then I do the teapot dance naked. I'm not worried about me doing it. It won't be the first."

I shook my head. "This is a family-friendly event. The judges won't allow it."

Talia shrugged. "Then we'll hold the event away from the judges. Our four units. How about that?" Talia glared at me. "But I'm guessing that won't be enough to thoroughly embarrass you. I'll be sure to record the event for your girlfriend. Having to see you be shamed like that in front of all of our units… I'm sure she'll feel very sorry for you. You wouldn't like that, would you?"

I grit my teeth. "If I don't agree to this?" I can't let Vara see me dance that in front of everyone.

Talia smirked. "Then I rip off your clothes anyway and then… well…" Talia laughed. "Let's just say your girlfriend will be very jealous."

Damn it. No matter what, I'll end up embarrassing myself in front of Vara. One option allows me to get out of this without hurting her. "Fine. I agree to your embarrassing game." There was a strong chance I can't win this. Talia… she's been trained by other Shadow users. She's mastered the Shadow Combatives course at the university. I don't have that. I don't have an understanding of what Shadow can do. This is the safer bet. Let her humiliate me and then… well… at least I can walk out of here with some amount of my pride left intact.

Talia laughed as she readied herself. "Perfect. By the way, I won't go easy on you just because I have no personal stake in this."

"Then we should add a personal stake." I pointed my finger to Talia. "You and your girlfriend have to do the dance." I crossed my arms. "If my girlfriend has to see this if I lose, then your girlfriend has to be involved too."

Talia's smirk dropped. I hit a nerve. "Counterpoint. I won't lose… so…" Her smile thickened. "Deal."

I swallowed as I readied myself. As soon as the bubble of Shadow dispersed, Talia was vanishing into what… I'm not sure what. All I knew was that Talia wasn't vanishing into Shadow. It was more like Shadow was quickly traveling across the arena. And when the Shadow trail led to me, I saw Talia emerge from it. Her fists were covered in Shadow magick. I had just enough time to jump into a Shadowport to escape that part of the arena from exploding.

I landed several feet away from her, but it didn't matter. She was already in front of me, cocking a smile at me. "Say goodbye to your shirt."

I snapped my foot out at her, trying to kick her.

Talia laughed as she rolled her arm around my leg. "Really? Nothing? No Shadow of your own? You're weaker than I thought you'd be." She ripped my boot off my foot. "Say goodbye to your boot." Talia laughed as she grabbed onto my sock. "And goodbye sock."

I vanished into a puff of Shadow. When I reappeared, I felt Talia's hands across my waist. "You really don't learn, do you?" She snaked her head over my shoulder. "What kind of Shadowwraith are you, anyway?"

"I'm no Shadowwraith…" I said back to her.

"You're not?" She looked me in the eye. "You know how to Shadowport… and yet…" Talia let go of my waist. "Just… wait a second. Time out." Talia backed away from me. She looked me up and down. "So… what are you then? Shadowblade? Shadowscale? White Robe? Serpent?"

I shook my head. "Look… I don't really know what those things are."

Talia arched an eyebrow. "And I didn't see you in the ISL training sessions. So…" Talia crossed her arms, giving me a cocky grin. "What can you do with your Shadow?"

I shrugged. "Shadowport… mostly. It's all I ever figured out."

Talia arched an eyebrow. "On your own? Your mother, father?"

I shook my head. "They didn't train me. They were merchants. They didn't know how to use Shadow. I learned by watching some Shadowscales Shadowport, ambushing my family. I watched as they slaughtered my parents. They tried to take me too." And that's when I did it for the first time. "I managed to escape… using Shadow to run and hide from them." I've been running and hiding ever since. "It's the only thing I know how to do."

Talia started to laugh, but it wasn't a mocking laugh. It seemed more incredulous. "Just like that? You figured out Shadowporting… by seeing it once and then… poof… just like that? You not only learned it, but managed to escape trained Shadowscales?" Talia shook her head. She lowered her stance. She stuck out her hands, summoning a Shadow Sword in her hand. "I'm going to love teaching you the basics…" Her voice turned menacing again. "And if you don't learn fast enough… doing a teapot dance will be the least of your concerns."

I swallowed as I popped myself into a Shadowport.

"Nope…" I heard as I emerged from my puff of Shadow. I felt a light slap across my back. It was cold, very sharp cold though. She cut me with her Shadow Sword. I could tell because my Atronach abilities clicked on, absorbing some of her sword into my own supply.

I popped into another puff of Shadow. I had to be careful. I was already running on empty, even if that sword gave me a small boost. I couldn't keep popping off Shadow like this. It was taking a toll of my already limited reserves.

Talia was standing in front of me as I exited my Shadowport. "Do you really not understand what is going on here?" She had her sword positioned underneath my shirt. With a light flick, she cut through the front of my favorite shirt. I popped into another Shadowport. By the time I popped out, I was getting exhausted. The sword was also aimed at my thigh. Another light flick at my pants, ripping one of my pant legs in half.

Talia was glaring at me. "I know this sword can't cut you… but your clothes on the other hand. Also… I can track your movements, girl!" Talia readied her next slash.

I popped into a Shadowport, watching as Talia rolled her two different colored eyes.

When I popped out, I felt a heavy crack across the back of my head. Talia had just snapped a punch at me. I quickly took in what Hans taught me about hand-to-hand combatives. I might not be the best at using Shadow… but Hans taught me how to fight. I might as well use it. I started to roll myself behind Talia, getting ready to put her in an arm lock. Then she vanished in a puff of Shadow. Talia reappeared behind me, and I had just enough time to figure that out as she ripped my torn shirt off my body.

I snaked around, throwing a punch at Talia, only for her to already be gone. She popped up several times all around me, each time reappearing in several positions I expected Vara to replicate during our reunion tour.

"Look at you." Talia's laughing voice called over my shoulder. "Shirtless… braless… and standing proud for everyone to gawk you."

I glanced down, noticing she was right. I hadn't even noticed it was gone. I quickly summoned Shadow around my chest, creating a small Shadow cloak.

Talia popped up, giving me a once-over. "Not bad. Using Shadow for clothing. I never even considered that a possibility. Or… are you using Shadow Form? That's an expert tactic. And you're using it on the fly?" Talia was laughing, nodding her head in approval. "It's got to be exhausting though. How about I show you what Shadow can really do?" Talia was smiling thickly as she covered her fists and feet in Shadow. "Body enhancing. Shadow can be used in various forms and for various situations. First up… The Shadowstep."

That Shadow trail thing I noticed earlier? Turns out… that's a Shadowstep. She was literally traveling at the speed of a shadow. … I think. It was hard to tell, but… I was able to see it clearly. And I managed to step out of the way as Talia reappeared in front of me, coming out of the Shadow like she was literally made out of it. She had her flaming fists aimed at me.

I felt two heavy impacts on my raised arms. My Atronach abilities started to kick in, absorbing some of her attacks. I was really happy I was an Atronach. I could still feel the cold burn on my scales. It was a comforting pain. A pain that told me that even if I was taking some punishment, it was doing a lot to help me fuel my own Shadowports.

"So… you're a bright one, huh?" Talia jeered at me, gesturing to my scales. "But… really? Blue, pink, and white? A little on the beak, right? You even have the white stripe running down the top of your head all the way to your tail."

I came to a stop. "Yeah… it was a rush job. But… next time I'm thinking crimson with an orange neck/chest."

"Ooh… that sounds nice." Talia smirked. "I might go lavender next time myself. That's the beautiful thing about being Argonians. We get multiple opportunities to get it right. The Hist love to help us out. Because it helps them out in return. We have a Hist outside of Windhelm. It's a bit of a walk, but… if you travel south to a little hamlet south of the volcano… there's a really nice Hist. Eldergleam, or something like that. She'll do whatever you want you to do. She only asks for memories… feelings. The Hist use us to live their lives. Our memories become their memories. The next time I go to the Hist… I want her to see the fun I've had. I want her to laugh when she relives my life."

I found myself smiling. "Sounds nice. I might join you. I'd love to meet her."

Talia's smile only thickened. "We'll take our girlfriends for the ride. Break in our new bodies together." After that, she winced. "Actually. Scratch that. It would be too painful."

"I was curious about that." I nodded to her. "I'm guessing you remade your body too."

Talia snickered. "Obviously… except this is my third remake. The first one was to hide my identity when my sister and I ran from Argonia. Role Breakers… are not welcome there. You leave your Birthsign Program… you die. It's that simple down there. And my sister did not want to die like our parents. She took us both and fled. We were both going to become Shadowblades, trained by our parents. It was our birthright. When our parents died… we didn't have anyone to train us, and so we would have both been thrown into the Mage class. Or we would become Casteless. If we were lucky, we'd be adopted into a Shadowblade family… but my sister was not too keen on us being killed to prove our worth. And with the trauma the two of us went through… the word Husk… sister said we'd be turned into those. And so, to save us both that fate, she took me and we ran. To keep us hidden… my sister had us both changed. The first time… I was scared. The second time… I knew what I wanted. And this is who I became. Who I was always meant to be. I assume it's the same with you. With the literal flag on your forehead."

I reached up, touching my white stripe surrounded by pink stripes, keeping my chest covered with my other arm. I was worried my Shadow blouse was going to vanish any second. "You caught me. Not like I'm hiding though."

Talia shrugged. "Nothing to hide? So, why not move those hands covering your tatas and drop that Shadow wrap so your friends can see you for who you really are."

I felt my feathers rise. "Don't get the wrong idea. I'm not embarrassed of my body, I just don't want my Khajiit brother to get a hard-on from seeing me shirtless. Plus… the kids are watching." I wasn't sure how long I could keep Shadow wrapped around my chest. This was a new experience for me. And this experience was draining my reserves. It was giving me ideas though. If I can use Shadow to form clothes, I can do other things with it.

Talia laughed. "Such an attitude. I love it. By the way… I'm taking your pants now. After that, there's only one thing left. And when that's gone. So is this game." Her eyes hardened.

I jumped into a puff of Shadow. Talia laughed as she jumped into the same Shadowport as me, traveling right beside me. I don't usually look while I travel in Shadow, and if I do, it's just a dark purple bubble. But inside this purple bubble was a black and gray Argonian. Her two different-colored eyes glared at me as she reached for my leg. She was giving me a wicked smirk as she did so. I felt every scale run cold as she pulled me close to her, placing her hand on my breast. Next thing I knew, we were in the Lake Rumare.

What? I didn't travel here.

I frantically started to look around. When… how?

Talia was floating right next to me, still grinning madly as she floated underneath me, grabbing on my pants' strings. Shit this was it. I was about to lose.

Oh… fuck this!

I snapped my foot out, kicking her away from me. As I kicked her, Talia managed to rip my pants, stretching them out enough that they were already falling down past my waist. I pushed off with my webbed feet, one of which was free since Talia nabbed my boot earlier. Talia popped in front of me, two flaming fists cocked back. I braced myself as she started slamming her fists on me. I never had much time to practice fighting in the water. You'd think it would be second nature… but it really wasn't. It wasn't like I had Argonians to train with. I grew up with Khajiits. All of which hated being in water.

I stepped into a Shadowport, hoping to get myself out of the water. Talia tagged along again, riding the same shadow as me. We started fighting in the puff of Shadow. I threw several elbows. Talia managed to block a few… but I realized something… I'm actually better than her at fist fighting.

That's when a plan started to form. When we popped back into the combat ring, my Shadow Form… or whatever it was called, was already gone. My pants were fallen down, barely clinging to my hips. And I was drenched in water. Talia was right. This game was about to be over. I haven't even snagged a single part of her outfit. She was dressed in some frilly dress, just as dark as her scales. Once I get rid of that dress, I'm sure she'll have just as much on as me right now. I just have to focus on her dress. Once I get rid of that, winning is almost within my grasp. Or… I can win by knocking her out of the combat arena. If I can beat her without losing my clothes, then this game will be forfeit either way. Neither of us will have to do the teapot dance.

Talia was having the time of her life. She was drenched in water too, her feathers plastered to her face, but that was not stopping her from laughing as she flicked her drenched feathers away from her eyes. "Well, Pra'ja… it's been fun. But I think it's time we ended this. Time to lose those panties."

"I would like to remind our competitors that this is a family-friendly event." The Arch Mage called from outside the combat ring.

Talia shrugged. "Fine, then I already win." Talia glared at me. "Except I see one little thing I forgot." She pointed down at my left foot. "A boot and sock. Once I get those, you have to do the dance. And I'm altering the deal. Since you put my girlfriend in the mix, and since I can't get to yours. You have to do the dance with that Vatu guy. Also naked."

I felt something in me snap. She just threatened my best friend. Talia had to die. Time for me to do what I planned.

I reached down for the enchanted stone floor. I placed my fingers on the stonework. Yeah… I could feel all the power stored in this stonework. I was out of Shadow. But… I know how to fix that.

"Ready for your next lesson?" Talia stuck out her forked tongue, winking at me. "So far I've used Shadowstep… which I've used to follow you in your Shadowports. Shadow Sword… using a Conjure Weapon… just made out of Shadow. It's kind of like Shadowfist. Also, I've used Shadow to enhance my punches, my kicks. There's also Shadowblast. But… I'm going straight for the one I've gotten the best at using. Shadowball. It's a compressed ball of Shadow that implodes before exploding. It pulls in your opponent before expelling with a painful burning blast."

Talia held out her hands. Small balls started to form out of Shadow. "If I hit you with these, you'll absorb it, I'm sure. You'll gain some amount of fight. But you'll also be in incredible pain. You'll get some amount of understanding on what Shadow is capable of. And after a while, you'll start to like how it feels. Like a massage."

I readied my hands, focusing on the stonework. Okay, Pra'ja… you've done this before. Well, not to this degree but I'm always fucking over enchantments. And exploding them. And then absorbing some of the magicka. This might work… but this also might heavily backfire. If I lose this… then I'll be forcing Vatu to do something he'll hate with all his heart. And then he might hate me. And then Vara might hate me too. I can't have that. Plus… no one fucks my brother. Or fucks with him.

Talia launched the balls of Shadow at me. Several of them landed on my back, exploding with enough force to knock me forward. They were exploding all around me, hitting my ticklish spots, like right above my hips. One landed on my boob which really fucking hurt. They were exploding all around me, several popping on my butt. Gods… Talia… you're making it really hard to focus right now! And knowing her, she was doing this on purpose. She wasn't even really fighting me at this point. She was just enjoying the time she had left inside the ring. And what remained of my clothes were ripping on each explosion.

I started absorbing the Shadow from these Shadow Balls, feeding the Shadow into the stonework. Just a little more punishment and then… well… I'll finish this game. The stonework was enchanted to resist all forms of magicka. I've never met a single enchanted item I couldn't jinx. Any enchantment I could dispel. I just needed a small push of Shadow to break the enchanted lines. And as I started seeing the enchantment for what it was… once I could see the magicka-blocking enchantment holding this whole thing together, I surged my Shadow into it… pushing it right through the Ward protecting the enchantment.

"You're making this too easy…" I heard Talia behind me. She had her hand on the back of my pants. With a quick tug, my pants were ripped off me.

"I swear to Talos… if you make another move, I will exterminate you." Hans screamed from outside the ring.

"Don't worry, old man." Talia snickered. She turned to look at Hans. "I won't do anything inappropriate. The two of us made this agreement. This is just a game to the two of us. Besides… maybe watching what comes next will interest you." I couldn't tell if Talia was purposefully trying to piss off my instructor or not, but Han's face was bright red and purple from his anger boiling over.

Talia bent down, grabbing me by my feathers, pulling my head back. "Last chance, Pra'ja. If you want to win, you'll need to do something. In the next three seconds, I'm taking that boot. But not before I make you scream." Talia lifted me off my knees, pulling my feathers harder. It was causing my head to feel like it was splitting in two. The migraine to end all migraines started to break my concentration. "You haven't done anything this entire match. I've been over here cutting your clothes off, putting small nicks in your flesh, just enough to cause you some worry, but not enough to damage your new body. All so I could see what you were made of. Think of it… two Shadow users, both extreme pranksters. We're the perfect opponents for each other. And yet… you haven't done anything to actually hurt me! My dress might be soaking wet, but it's still on. My boots too. And so are my wrist guards. You haven't even tried to touch me. So… what are you going to do, Pra'ja? How are you going to overcome me?" Talia was laughing, almost shaking her head. "Is this all you have to offer? Is this all your training had to give? You… a War Mage from Unit 4, the fabled strongest training unit of War Mages, taught by the best Battlemages in the entire Legion, even the Arch Mage watching your training closely. Your unit was forged to become the strongest hunters of all of us. And you can't even land a fucking blow on your equal? This entire tournament and no one from your side has had any chance of winning. Some unit you turned out to be. Every fighter of yours has lost to my so-called shitty unit. I was expecting more out of you especially."

I couldn't see Talia behind me, but I did feel her pull on my feathers harder. She was beginning to drag me back, almost making me take my fingers off the marble floor. "Come on, Pra'ja… you have to have some kind of plan. Something to make this finish in your favor. You're like me! You have to have something planned. You're a prankster. You wouldn't just give up. Not when your friend's dignity is on the line." Talia was practically laughing. "I can't believe you're going to let it end like this. Just you… me… and your friend's furry short sword." Talia leaned in. "I wonder how long that short sword can become though. Guess we'll find out. That little teapot, short and stout. I can't wait to tip him over and pour… him… out."

Talia was biting her lip, thinking about it as she tugged me closer to her head. "So, what do you say?" Talia bent down, whispering in my ear. "Come on, Shadow Witch. Ready for the big finish? Or, are you going to let Vatu choke in front of your friends?" She looked over to Vatu, who was trying his best to keep his red eyes under control. My friends looked worried for me. I couldn't let them down. I couldn't let them see me at my lowest.

My fingers were barely touching the ground. If Talia hulled me up any further… I wouldn't be able to win this match. Better now than never. "You want my plan? Then… eat it!" I screamed as I blasted my Shadow into the stonework. And just like that, the enchantments keeping this floor protected exploded. All the stored magicka had to go somewhere… and my hand was connected to the floor. So were Talia's feet.

Magicka, raw magicka, surged through me. It surged through Talia too. She was quick though, Shadowporting away. When she reappeared, I swear… I could track her Shadowport. Her dress was ruffled, her boots missing. Her clothes were trashed. Her feathers ruffled. I could tell I managed to surge a lot of Shadow through her. And unlike me… she can't absorb it. And I wasn't done yet.

I aimed my hand up to her, feeling the magicka overwhelming me. It had to have somewhere to go. "Hey, Talia…"

She was floating in the sky, slightly ruffled by the magicka explosion that hit her. She definitely didn't expect me to explode the combat arena's enchantments. Her eyes looked wide and curious. She wanted to see how this was going to end. Good. I'm ready to rock her world.

"You want something to choke on? Choke on this!" I screamed as I summoned a blast of raw Shadow from my hand. It was strong, stronger than anything I've ever done in my life. It was like a river of Shadow Fire exploding from my hand. I willed it to form into a condensed cone, focused on Talia. I can't believe it. I formed some kind of Shadow cone fire beam thingy.

When the Shadow cleared, Talia was falling to the ground. Her body was surrounded by a Shadow Bubble of her making. When she hit the ground, the bubble popped. She didn't move. Well, not for a few seconds, she didn't.

Talia reached up to her head, barely able to lift her arm. "Wow… a Shadow Beam." Talia laughed. "You're something else, Vanderma. Totally worth egging you on." She glanced up at me. "Once you get your new scales… I'm calling you my Crimson Heart." She closed her eyes.

"Talia Snake-Fang, thankfully, is unconscious and unable to battle." Hans yelled from his booth. "Pra'ja Vanderma is the victor."

I won? Wait… I won! I managed to beat Talia! I managed to beat one of the strongest Shadow users in the Shadow Legion. I… I didn't expect that I could. She outclassed me in every way. To be honest… the whole match seemed weird. I know Talia wanted to embarrass me in front of everyone, but still… she didn't even try to beat me at the end. I wonder why.

I wrapped my chest with Shadow, using my newly formed reserves of Shadow to give me a long dress that covered my body. I modelled it after Talia's lolita dress. I limped my way over to Talia, looking down at her.

She barely had her eyes open. "Hist… that sucked. Knew it would." Talia was barely able to speak. "Ruined my favorite outfit too. Damn… shouldn't have worn it in a combat arena."

"You're a bitch." I kicked her shoulder. "You dare drag Vatu into our game?"

Talia laughed. "I knew from the start that you wouldn't show me your full prowess. Too nervous. And I could defend myself from any Shadow attack you could manage. I never really wanted to fight in this tournament." Talia lowered her voice. "Erickha convinced me to fight this thing… to show off how good our unit is. She wanted us to look good in front of everyone. But…" Talia shook her head. "I don't know. Pranking people… that's one thing. Beating my friends to a bloody pulp… that's another. Seeing Erickha bleeding like that… seeing how much pain she was in. I… I didn't want to put you through that. Or myself." Talia shuddered. "So… how to show off our unit's strength while making sure I don't have to move onto the murderous soul-slicing bitch?" Talia pointed to me. "Get my Shadow-using friend, who I know can't really hurt me… to really hurt me."

I felt pranked. Fucking Talia. She pranked me. All of this… it was an act. "That's… that's not okay. You ripped my clothes off. You embarrassed me in front of my friends. And then… you dragged Vatu into this. He has amazing hearing. He heard you say you were going to drag him into the teapot dance. You know that right?"

Talia nodded. "Yeah… sorry about all that. Like I said… I needed you motivated. The more I pushed you, the more you just… shrugged it off. You're really good at faking your loose attitude." Talia glared at me. "Even I acknowledge the stuff that bothers me. All smiles and laughs? Bullshit. But… if I know I couldn't handle Starian… I had to make sure my newest friend, and fellow Shadow user… had some understanding of how to fight her." Talia nodded her head. "I don't think you stand a chance though. And Starian… I've never seen anything like her before. That Soul Sword of hers. It's unlike anything I've come across. You're adaptable, in ways I' m not. But I doubt you can overcome her. You need to be careful. Just forfeit or something. She has honor… she'll let you leave the arena in one piece. If you let her though… she'll cut your soul into pieces."

Talia was right. Starian was going to be my next opponent. And… I could barely take on someone like myself. How was I going to take on Starian? There was no way I would be able to handle someone like her. I could play with the idea of Shadowporting her out of the arena… but that's such a bitch move.

"I could shadowport her out of the arena." I shrugged to Talia.

Talia snickered. "Such a bitch move."

"It could work."

"You'd piss everyone off in the process. And Starian would hold it against you. She'd find you and demand a proper rematch. I didn't do it to you, and I wouldn't do it to her." Talia reminded me. "This tournament is meant for us to show off our talents, not shortcuts and cheating abilities. If Starian is a better fighter, let her move onto the next round to test her abilities against someone could put up with her. If that's not us… we don't belong in this tournament in the first place." Talia looked at me.

Shit… when Talia is telling me to take this seriously… I was seriously in the wrong.

I nodded. "You're so weird." I knelt down to get closer to her. "You're being uncharacteristically serious right now."

Talia coughed a laugh as she let her head hit the stone floor. "Damn that Erickha. Making me a better person."

I reached down, taking Talia's hand in mine. "Don't worry. I won't let her make you completely a good principled dipshit. I'll help you stay the ugly degenerate you are."

Talia laughed as I pulled her up to her feet. "You fucking better."

Cearbhail:

So, Pra'ja has won her match. And more importantly, hasn't gotten Vatu into more trouble than he needs.