“Hello? Aesop? You wanted to talk to me?”
Litvir seemed rather uneasy when they received Aesop’s message to meet him at… well, Litvir wasn’t sure. They thought it was a cinema, but it was more like a dark room with very large screen and a bunch of sofas, with snacks everywhere. And while Aesop had suggested that he only wanted to talk to Litvir, he has clearly invited a few over folks as well. Mostly two of Aesop’s friends, but there were also two Lanex too, one of whom Aster, who was happily lounging on one of the sofas and eating popcorn.
“Heya, kiddo!” Aesop grinned. “I did want to talk. But not about anything important. I thought you might enjoy a men’s night.”
“A… what night?”
“A men’s night!” Aster waved from the sofa. With him was the other Lanex, wearing black, red and gold. They had a gold collar and a long black silk sash with a gold medallion hanging off it. Litvir assumed they were a pretty important person.
“A… I do not get it…”
Aesop patted Litvir on the shoulder, then led them to the middle sofa and sat both Litvir and himself down. There was something playing on the TV but Litvir hadn’t quite noticed it yet.
“We’re having a night of watching manly TV shows while eating manly food and generally doing chill manly things!” Aesop explained in a rather vague manner. “But, if I’m really honest, I wanted to watch the Noble Nobble and thought a kid like you would enjoy it.”
“Uh… what?” Litvir was only getting more confused. Aesop noticed this, patted Litvir on the shoulder, then handed them a drink. It was a fizzy, sweet drink. But it wasn’t beer, like everyone else seemed to be drinking.
“We’re going to watch some Torrian Wrestling. Have you watched wrestling before?”
Litvir blinked. “No?”
“Do you watch arena matches?”
“Uh… somewhat?” Litvir shrugged. “I have watched a few matches but I do not like them much because people hurt each other and there is blood and stuff.”
“Well, maybe wrestling is more your cup of tea!” Aesop smiled. “There’s no blood at least. It’s pure physical strength and skill!”
“It’s fake and scripted…” Aster muttered.
Aesop pretended that he didn’t hear what Aster had said. “It’s fighting with only the body. No blades, no guns, just the Torr’s perfect body. And occasionally a table or a ladder. All set within a ring. And, in about ten minutes when these adverts end, we’re going to watch one of the biggest wrestling events of the year, the Noble Nobble!”
“That’s such a copyright-avoiding name…”
Annoyed at Aster’s comments, Aesop span around and wagged a finger at him. “Stop being an asshole. You know how fucked up Torr copyright laws are in the hands of powerful companies! And plus, I prefer this name. We ain’t exactly fans of royalty among the Torr.”
Aster shrugged, then settled down. “Litvir, Aesop just wanted some friends to watch the show with since his other friends all cancelled. I suggested we invite you because you could do with doing some more fun masculine things occasionally.”
“Oh…” Litvir settled down. “That seems fun, I guess? I do not know why I need to do… masculine things?”
Aesop grunted. “I don’t want you to grow up into a pussy.”
“But I am a Rethan. I cannot be a fluffy kitty. Could… could Kohra be a fluffy kitty?”
Aesop stared at Aster, turned back to Litvir and rolled his eyes. “No, Kohra can’t be a cat, he can just make himself look like one… Just shut up, have some snacks and a drink and watch the damn show with us. I know you’re under 21 and can’t drink beer, so I gave you an energy drink instead.”
“They’d be legally allowed to drink at the age of 16 in Lanex territories.”
Again, Aesop stared at Aster, but this time he tutted and gave in. “Whatever. Show’s starting in a bit. Sit your asses down and-”
“Who are your friends?” Litvir suddenly asked. “Hello, Aesop’s friends! Hello, Aster’s friend!”
The two Torr both inadvertently snorted in amusement.
“Hmph. The Lanex over there is Ignik, he’s Aster’s friend from the Perpetual Abyss and now their Imperator or something. These two assholes are my siblings, Theodore and Elizabeth. Unlike most Torr, we don’t hate each other.”
“Much…” Theodore snickered.
“Much…” Aesop rolled his eyes some more. “Anyway… damn, the show is actually about to start…”
Aesop made sure that everyone was sat down, handed Litvir a massive bag of potato crisps, then topped up his large mug of beer and sat down as well.
“The show?”
“Yep. We’re starting with the Women’s Noble Nobble. Great way to kick off!”
Litvir finally seemed to notice that there were things going on on the massive TV screen. Litvir did admittedly sometimes have trouble watching TV screens, mostly because they were so young, but this one was big and Litvir could see things properly. On the screen was a large arena with a small arena with ropes around it in the middle, as well as a lot of fireworks as the first wrestler, a bulky female Torr in a black and blue sparkly suit, made her way down a long runway to the small, roped area.
“Oh. Sparkly.”
“Yeah, that’s a pretty cool costume! Hopefully we’ll see more, they always get the best costumes for these events.” Elizabeth mused.
“I… I expected them to wear armour or something… or wear less stuff like Temthans…” Litvir muttered.
“Nah, we’re Torr!” Theodore shrugged. “We have SOME level of class around here.”
Litvir paused, then turned back to the show. Two more wrestlers had joined the first in the arena, and the commentators were now explaining the rules. More and more wrestlers were due to appear over time, wrestlers were eliminated if they were thrown out of the ring over the top rope, and the winner would be the last person standing. Litvir was surprised to hear that there would be 30 wrestlers total.
“You got a favourite, baby Rethan?” Theodore asked as the bell rang and the wrestlers circled each other.
“This… is my first time watching this sort of thing…”
Aesop grinned, then patted Litvir on the shoulder. “Don’t worry, kid, you’ll have a favourite in no time. Now let’s relax and enjoy the show…”