((Author's Note: Dear readers, we multiple personalities of SilyaBeeodess apologize for her extremely long absence. A group of Yautja, angered by her lack of diligence to sticking to one story and finishing it, sought after her to claim her skull as punishment. She has therefore been in hiding for some time. However, danger draws ever near as she finds herself flung amid the war between Hunters and Hard Meats. This information was only discovered through a lost journal written by said author.
If anyone knows the possible whereabouts of SilyaBeeodess, she is a short stick with tired eyes from stress and a crazed look from all this time living in isolation amid piles of papers. Rumors say she was last spotted in the darker recesses of her mind with a large, near invisible figure following her. If you have any information regarding her whereabouts, please call G-ETT-OWO-RKSB. Pray for her safety.))
"You don't have to do this. Challenge or no, with your injuries any honor bound hunter wouldn't think any less of you for stepping down."
"It has already been done. And I refuse to back down like the prey he thinks I am. He issued the fight and he'll get one. If I manage to get myself killed, let it be known that I didn't die a gutless coward."
Sain'ja had tried in vain to talk her out of it, but even he himself knew there was no quitting once a challenge had been issued between hunters. To quit was to bear the mark of a coward who deserved no reason to be called a hunter. The clan members who had gathered to watch the fight saw no fair ground to a still-healing human vs. a battle-worn and ready arbitrator. Really, the match itself held no meaning. If a hunter of lesser rank were challenged by their superiors, it was often to put them in their place, but Dto-Raija had done nothing to set the Yautja off on her.
Although none voiced it, almost all could see Megedagik's true reasons for challenging her. She was human. She didn't belong.
As a female, the sisters of the clan had the right to step in for her, or even to continue an already won battle, if they wished. However, this wasn't a battle of male vs female, but of a single being fighting to prove she was a true Yautja, mandibles or no. And even if any of the few females onboard offered, Sain'ja knew without a doubt that they're assistance would be promptly refused. The small huntress was stubborn like that.
…
Stripped once again of her armor and in simple garb, Nina stood on a large platform in the center of a huge chamber within the ship. Megedagik stood across from her, tense and equally disarmed. Surrounding them was a mass of other Yautja, crowded around the platform to a point where the floor could hardly be seen.
The fight would be solely hand-to-hand combat, with the one to knock the other off the platform— or knock them unconscious— as the victor. The human and most reasonable part of her knew she couldn't win and hoped the arbitrator would settle for just smacking her off and only breaking a few bones in the process. The Yautja side that was slowly taking over couldn't give a rat's hindquarters even if she tried and craved to see herself standing over his fallen form.
Her legs ached painfully by the joints— a sign that her body was growing faster than her bones were, which should've only occurred during her metamorphosis from child to adult— and she felt as if each breath was a bit labored, but she choose to ignore it all in favor of concentrating on the fight. If she made any sort of slip up, she knew it would be all over before it even began.
With a shout to begin made by a member of the Council, the two began to circle one another, the space in between them getting smaller, moving with slow, deliberate steps and never taking their eyes off the other. I can't just rush into this, she quelled her ever-growing instincts, I'm going to have to think my way out.
The crowd began to quiet around them. Not a good sign: Not with this sort. If there wasn't any sort of action made soon, they would grow impatient. A suspicious thought crossed her mind. Her eyes never leaving the Arbitrator's, she deliberately made a slip up—just a small misstep for him to find and use to strike her down.
He didn't rise to the bait. If anything, she swore his mandibles briefly twitched upward in amusement before he could stop them.
Nina then understood perfectly what he wanted. He would wait her out until the ship entered the next system if he had to, all for the sake of proving a point despite risking his own honor in order to make it. He could make a move at any time, but he would wait—and wait patiently—for her to go first instead. If the standstill continued, her own patience could easily be twisted by a few well-placed words into hesitation: Hesitation and fear.
Should the need come to defend his honor after the not-so-much-a-spar came to an end, he could do so easily—what with a build like his and the past he had. However, Nina's would stand in question. That was what he wanted: Not to prove himself as the better warrior, but show she lacked the traits of one.
Clever piece of c'jit, she thought, grinding her teeth together behind closed lips. Fine then. But let him try to denounce her when she was unwilling to play pawn in his game. A loud, angry scream ripping harshly from her throat, she charged: The suddenly energized cry of the audience joined her.
Sain'ja was going to be ticked at her for dropping all sense of strategy and acting like a Youngblood in his first bout…
Bam! She took what felt like a sledgehammer to the side as Megedagik huffed and swung his arm to smack her away as if swatting a very large insect—not far enough to knock her off the platform which he very likely could do, but enough to knock the wind out of her. Hitting the ground hard, she rolled into a crouch, a few braided stands falling over one eye.
In an instant, she popped back up, launching herself from the floor by both feet and one hand. Both arms flew in front of her to block the second swing. The blow rattled her bones, but she was able to keep herself standing—even though her feet slid back along the floor. In the brief second she had after the strike's aftermath, she dug her nails into the tough flesh at his large wrist. She had to use both hand in order to trap it in her grasp. Newly discovered and still developing strength combined with pure determination allowed her to twist Megedagik's arm behind his back. Before he could break free or turn the attack against her, she placed a foot against his spine and kicked out with all her might, releasing the arm in the process for a spring-like affect.
The Arbitrator stumbled forward a good few feet. A look overcame him that revealed his surprise and having been caught off guard. He spun around.
She probably wasn't going to get away with that a second time.
Yet still he waited. It was rather annoying really. As if she didn't already get it, he lifted a hand to draw his fingers inward, goading her to keep up the offense. Directly behind her, Yautja urged her onward—she didn't know them, so she doubted it was in encouragement as it was at the prospect of seeing blood splatter upon the platform. A hunter wouldn't refuse: She couldn't refuse.
Letting a low growl reverberate deep within her throat, she pounced once more.
This time as the strike came—a wonderfully aimed arm thrust toward her chest—she forced her weight to drop like a block of lead, knees skidding across the floor as she swept away from the attack. The strike missed her just barely, the lower part of his palm knocking against the edge of her shoulder. The bit of the blow she did take knocked her off balance. She latched her hands to his leg for an anchor.
Neither combatant seemed to know what to make of this instinctual action for a moment. Indeed, it did appear a little silly—as some spectators would account later in debate. Nina moved fast to make up for it, though her mind was a brief haze as she scrambled to give good purpose to her current position. She swung one leg forward, her torso bending around the leg she grasped as the second was caught around the knee.
A mix of clicking laughter and curious, excited shouts filled the chamber as Megedagik tried to get her off of him. "Well," she mused as he squirmed, "Is that as awkward for you as this is for me?" If he heard the murmur, he didn't respond.
A part of her was certain he could really hurt her—maybe break her spinal column by forcing his legs further apart—if he wanted to. She wondered what kept him from doing just that before remembering that to him this wasn't about winning.
All inner thoughts aside though, she found herself in yet another standstill. She realized this wasn't about winning for either of them; just putting on a good performance in which the other was a puppet. Of course, neither was too fond of that role, however Nina—in the literal sense—had her life set on not playing it.
Just then, Megedagik seemed intent on the very possibility she had previously dwelled on. Her muscles screamed in agony as her body was stretched, held in place by sheer will. A clawed hand gripped a good fistful of her hair. As a bolt of pain shot through her skull, the laughter in the room increased at the spectacle that had become of the match. At least some people were enjoying it.
Lifting her free leg, Nina kicked out at the side of his kneecap, screaming as she did so in both pain and power. The attack knocked him off balance and in that moment she put both of her legs together to swipe them underneath the omnipresent, unbelievably strong being. As he struggled to stand straight, she scaled up his form to grab hold of his arm. Tugging him down to where shoulder met shoulder, she stood on one leg to swing the other in a swift round kick aimed for his skull.
The second after her foot met flesh and bone, she back off, readying herself for some sort of counter. "You know, when you challenged me I thought I was pretty screwed," she seethed in anger more to her aching body than her opponent, "My mistake."
She may have been ready to counter, but she hadn't been at all prepared for the sudden smack down. Megedagik was little more than a massive brown blur and a blood-curling cry of rage as he rammed her. Nina spun in the air as she went flying. The air-born feeling left as quickly as it had come the minute her spine hit the ground, the side of her skull banging against the floor. It all happened so fast she hadn't even known what had occurred until the metallic taste of blood entered her mouth from where she had ripped open her lip with her teeth in the assault.
The crowd wasn't laughing anymore.
She was dragged back by the back of her neck, claws grazing against the flesh, before being bashed down once more. Nina had only the energy to roll out of the way as a large foot rose to crush her into nonexistence. Her eyes widened with realization.
She wasn't going to enjoy this, but it was her only chance. Pushing herself up on one knee and clasping her injured side, she shouted hawked as much phlegm as she could and spat out the mix of saliva and crimson life at the Arbitrator's feet. Staring him right in the eyes, she taunted with a small smirk and a mocking wink, "Is that all you've got, tiny? Really now, show me what you're truly made of."
As hoped for, Megedagik only grew more perturbed. Leave it to a warrior who's had so much power for so long to allow the mockery of even what he considered to be the weakest of creatures as a grave insult—an insult to be corrected in the Yautja way used to teach any insolent pup its place.
He stomped toward her and Nina swung her leg in a downward sweep to try to knock him off balance as she had last done. The motion expected this time he easily evaded the strike and reached her without struggle. A herculean fist sent her sprawling once more. As she tried to push herself up, his foot caught her in the chest and she coughed up blood.
What followed was no longer a battle, but a severe beating—drawn out as the Arbitrator made certain to keep her near the center of the platform or else risk the call for the match to end by her slipping over the ledge. All the while Nina struggled to fight back, landing a good kick or punch whenever she good, however Megedagik had every advantage: Larger, stronger, faster, and more experienced than she or any Yautja she had met, there was little she could do beyond wait for it all to end.
She didn't scream or whimper. She couldn't even if it didn't matter her need to save face, as her cries had turned to voiceless gasps begging for a reprieve and a single breath of air. And when she found the voice, she used it for further taunting.
Beaten and broken, it came to a point where she couldn't even move. Falling in and out of consciousness, her chest heaving with uneven breaths, she was limply tossed to the ground and lay still. Waiting: Just waiting for something else to happen—another attack, a voice to call off the match and proclaim Megedagik as the winner, welcomed darkness.
Nina lifted her gaze up to the Arbitrator standing over her, just staring at her, and scowled. Her returned her look with a huff of dismissal, the 'punishment' now dealt having calmed him back down to his useful passive—if dangerous—persona. He kept his fists clenched at his sides and looked down upon her for another long minute before speaking. "Pyode Amedha." Then he turned his back on her, decorative dreds spinning with him, as he made his way off the stage.
Before she knew it, Nina shot a hand out to catch his ankle in a weak grasp. It couldn't stop him, yet he paused despite this, a brow raised when he looked back to her fallen form. "No," she choked in English, chanting it like a mantra in a soft whisper. "Don't… Walk away from me…"
Using her last reserves of energy, she forced herself to stand, clasping her side. She scaled Megedagik like a tree in order to get on her own two feet, and for some reason he let her—as if she could do much of anything in her state anyway. She coughed up more blood, watching lazily as it dripped down her chin and to her feet. "End this…" she heaved, "End this…like you mean it!"
Hearing this, Megedagik blinked in surprise before growling and shoving her away. She swayed, backing up a few steps, but managed to keep herself up. A look in his eyes gave her a single order: Quit while she still could.
"You challenged me!" she shouted, aching from that much effort. She pointed a finger at him in accusation. "So you finish what you started! I might have been born a soft meat and I don't know what you're problem is, but I'll fight until the end until we've settled this! I'm not done yet! You don't leave this half-done!" There was a slight limp in her gait as she approached him once more. She raised a shaky fist, launching it toward his face.
He caught it easily, his fingers painfully curling around her own. Another moment of silence, but then he said in surprisingly good English. "Yes. You are." That was that then. In this one moment, surrounded by few who truly knew what words were being shared in such a strange tongue, all the cards were on the table. This one would never see her as anything beyond her species. He couldn't even grant her the respect between combatants of any sort: Instead, he would leave her abandoned in her weakness as a creature of pitiful status, unworthy of so much as claiming victory over.
She couldn't let him treat her like this.
Nina balled up a second fist and did the same as with the first. The same result. In his hold, she struggled: her knees threatening to give out from under her, her eyes bleary and vision speckled with shadows. "Fight me…" she whispered, "like you mean it… I didn't come this far… to be snuffed at…"
The third time she coughed up blood, she suddenly felt tired. So tired. Yet still she struggled.
She was so tired she didn't understand the change of events until she felt her back collide with the wall and her limp form slump to the ground. Looking up with blurry eyes, she saw Megedagik watching her from the platform some ways away. Though she couldn't hear him in the muffled sounds about her, she saw the Elder raise a hand to call the match to its end before giving her a look of mingled sympathy and pride. She saw Sain'ja swim into view, amber eyes filled with concern and similar admiration.
She saw the world fade to black.