“Dude, you were so awesome!”
Abius didn’t expect to have fans waiting for them as they plodded out of the Dasoudi Arena, utterly covered in blood, but right now, they had four fans, one of whom handed Abius a towel so they could wipe their face down.
“You were great, Abius!” Retvik beamed as he put his hand on Abius’s shoulder and led them to the showers.
“You think?”
“Great? You were more than great!” Nyssi bounced around excitedly. “That was basically a perfect match! The perfect amount of time, a decent amount of space between murders AND you quickly dealt with a hider and made that guy piss himself!”
Abius frowned. “Is that normal? Both, is that normal for these events, and is it normal for a Temthan to empty when they are scared?”
“First time it’s happened with a Rethan Big Bad!” Nyssi was full of information. “According to my fav stats website, it happens in about 1 in 10 matches! And yeah, some folks totally piss themselves when they’re scared. Mostly the furry races, but Temthans, Torr, and, weirdly, Lanex seem to do it too. Spasts do it it all the time.”
“We do NOT!” Tenuk exclaimed. “If we’re scared, we produce pheromones!”
“Pheromones that smell like shit.”
“Well…” Tenuk hesitated. “Well, yes. It’s to dissuade predators and stop them from trying to eat us. Spasts are prey animals, we’re the ONLY purely prey species among the Twelve. Why is it weird for Lanex though?”
“Lanex are more closely related to Skyavok than anyone else, even if it’s very, very different. Their insides are completely different though. Four lungs, three kidneys, only one intestine but it’s stupidly long, and don’t get me started about how they reproduce.”
Everyone had more questions.
“Why do us Rethans and the Skyans not empty when we are scared though?” Abius asked. “Also, both Rethans and Skyans have three lungs.”
“Your digestive system works differently!” Nyssi explained. “All your waste is a thick liquid, which you need muscles to force out. The muscles that control a bladder in a non-Threanic race are much weaker, and can inadvertently relax and release due to intense emotions. Also, you Threanics, you have two oxygen lungs and a nitrogen lung. Lanex have two oxygen lungs, a nitrogen lung and a fourth lung that does something with hydrogen but also provides counterbalance, which is why Lanex don’t need space suits.”
Everyone glanced at Nyssi and blinked.
“Wow. Lanex are weird…” Tenuk muttered.
“That’s a kinda mean thing to say when you are a member of a species of four-eyed, shapeshifting bipedal foxes…” Nyssi tutted. “Anyway, yeah! Abius! You were awesome!”
Abius smiled. “I appreciate that. It was actually quite… not fun, but different, I guess. Made a pleasant change. But I am however desperate to get out of this armour. In fact…”
With a silly grin, Abius removed both their helmet and their massive pauldrons and handed it all to Retvik, who seemed somewhat surprised at just how heavy Big Bad armour was. Then again, he had never worn Big Bad armour before, and Retvik was hoping that, with Abius’s success, he might get the chance to some day.
“I need to shower. Yes, I know I slaughter beasts, but I forgot that all the contestants were wearing special fake blood packs. I stamped a little too hard on that first poor, poor person and did not expect to completely blow up a blood pack.”
“It’s fun though, isn’t it?” Kayel laughed. “Having the crowds cheer you on as you do evil things!”
“I am not too sure. It was very strange, but I guess I find it stranger that people volunteered for me to hurt them. Still, it was all technically consenting, and I did get to fight a Torr, I have never done that before, so it was a good experience in the end!” Abius was still quite perky, despite their slight unease. “But yes… I really need to clean myself up. Retvik would you care to join me?”
“Uh…” Retvik hesitated. Abius immediately realized what they had said and instantly apologized.
“I am so sorry, I forgot that you have a partner now…” Abius frowned. “Forgive me.”
“It is fine!” Retvik smiled awkwardly. “I was just… unaware that you saw me that way.”
“Well… you ARE very attractive. Everyone avoided you because you were an exile, and, admittedly, while I did consider making a move a few years ago, I felt unable to do so because… uh… well… your, uh, bloodline stuff did make you completely inaccessible.”
“Unfortunately…”
Retvik and Abius both trailed off.
“You should go shower with Abius anyway!” Kayel teased. “Because, like, no offense, you’re massive, mate. And if I struggled to get fake blood off my back when I did this stupid stuff? You’ve got nice, white plating, don’t want to walk around with a missed stain.”
Retvik eyed Kayel, but Kayel’s teasing turned into a tut.
“I bet you ten quid Kuta would be fine with it. Kuta’s fine with everything. Actually, I’m gonna ask them…” Kayel pulled out his communicator, ignoring Retvik’s stares. He rather quickly got a reply, which he showed to Nyssi and Tenuk before showing to Retvik.
Nyssi burst out laughing and Tenuk snorted. Retvik though was somewhat thrown back.
“Uh, what does the message say?” Abius asked.
“Kuta said it is fine for me to help you clean up and would like to join us, but they are currently in bed.”
Abius fell silent for a moment, trying to work out why the name “Kuta” sounded familiar. “You are dating the former General of Hidden Internal Affairs?”
“Yes.”
“The one with the strange powers that tried to track down the vok who shot the High Advisor and the High General?”
“Yes.”
“Huh.”
Kayel glanced at Abius. “I think you’re the first person to refer to Kuta in that way and not call them a fanged freak or something.”
Abius shrugged. “I am an utterly gigantic higher-caste Rethan who wrestles beasts in just a loin cloth. It would be immoral for me to judge others similarly. Anyway, I really must clean myself off, I am desperate to get out of this armour. Thank you for the kind words, I shall see you all later. Retvik, do you want to come with?”
Retvik shrugged as well. “Well, since Kuta is fine with it, sure, I guess?”
The two Rethan gladiators lumbered off. Kayel smiled, but Tenuk looked surprised.
“Abius totally fancies Retvik...“ Tenuk muttered.
“No, really?” Nyssi replied as sarcastically as she could. “Poor Retty has been denied so much shit his whole damn life.”
“He’s getting it all back now, at least?” Kayel suggested. “Kinda reminds me of Arkay, to be honest.”
“How is Arkay, by the way?” Nyssi asked. “We haven’t seen him in a while. I totally want to do more Wards and Wyverns with him.”
Kayel’s smile faded. “Honestly? No idea. I’ve barely seen Arkay. And every time I do see him, he’s fully armoured and in a rush to do something.”
“He IS a busy deity…”
“Yeah, sure, but I haven’t seen him sleep in a bit.”
Nyssi shrugged some more. “Well, I guess we can invite him round in the next few days? He might appreciate the distraction.”
“We ought to ask Retvik first though,” Tenuk frowned. “He’s kinda distracted right now. Doubly so because he has that match against Tromos in two days.”
“Is Retvik nervous about that?” Nyssi exclaimed. “He seemed pretty confident about that match. Tromos is strong but he’s kinda… just a Ksithan.”
“He’s the House Master. It’s a big match.”
“Yeah, but Retty will be fine. He’s the Triumphant Champion!”
Tenuk looked Nyssi up and down, then relented. “I guess you’re right. So… what do we do now?”
“Let’s just head to the canteen!” Kayel smiled. “Retvik might be a while. He’s busy making friends for once.”