“Ugh. I did it again.”
Abius grunted as they wiped fake blood off their face. After years of not having Rethans in Thirteenth Night, Abius found themselves being a Big Bad on the regular. Originally, the Rethan arena house fighters, and Rethavok in general, were considered too tame and not particularly scary to do events involving instant contestants willingly letting themselves be hunted by a monster, but Abius had somehow managed to sway the crowds, to the point that they did two Thirteenth Night events every week.
However, every single time Abius played the Big Bad, they forgot that the contestants were set up with tons of fake blood and gore, to look extra scary, and every time, without fail, Abius would crush someone or stamp on someone and then get themselves covered in blood. That was to be expected, but the blood always ended up in awkward places, like down Abius’s back and on their face. Considering that Abius was a white-plated Rethan, it made the fake blood hard to clean off. More than once, Abius had missed a spot and left the showers with fake blood on themselves somewhere.
“You did what again?” Levik asked as he greeted Abius.
“Got fake blood in annoying places…” Abius sighed. “Hello, Levik, how are you?”
“How am I? I’m great! How are you?” Levik bounced a little. Abius wasn’t great at recognising moods on Spasts, but they knew that Levik’s bounciness meant he was very happy.
“Same old, I assume. Today was rather normal, I guess. Where is Timik?”
Levik stopped bouncing for a moment. “The showers, I think. He did one of these new endurance matches and won 4 fights in a row. It was really cool, and I kinda want to do something similar, but Tanok said I ought to practice in 1v1 matches more first.”
“Ah, I see. Well, I need to go to the showers myself.”
“I don’t need to shower, but can I walk with you?”
Abius shrugged. “You can, yes. How have you been, lately?”
The bouncing started up again. Abius made sure to walk slowly, so Levik wouldn’t need to constantly catch up.
“I have! I was kinda hoping to do things with other people though. Like, I wanted to do that “mini Terror Twins” match thing, but there’s kinda no one else tiny like me.”
Abius nodded in agreement. “Unfortunately, the Sudden Darkness took a lot of beings with it. Us house fighters are very few in number now.”
“Why does no one want to fight for the arenas?” Levik asked. “I mean, for me, it’s obvious. I’m a Spast. Spasts are pacifists mostly. But, like… no one else has stepped up.”
“Hmph. I know why other Rethans do not want to be house fighters. They do not want to appear as Legion-less or in the 800th Legion. They want to be in the 798th Legion, where all Rethan gladiators work. There is more glory to be had in that Legion. And everyone is well aware that they will never be as good as Retvik was.”
“Oh…” Levik thought for a moment. “What Legion are you in?”
“800th. Legion of the Jobless.”
“But you have a job.”
“Yes. I am well aware of the irony!” Abius tutted. “But I have always been a very strange Rethan. Few Rethans feel at their most comfortable while wearing no armour at all. I also make a lot more than other Rethans because I get half the standard 800th Legion income on top of what I am paid as a house fighter.”
“Oh…” Levik trailed off again. “What about everyone else though?”
“I do not know. I am aware though that the new Raptor wants to change how the house fighter program works. I am not sure how, but it seems that we will be split into different groups, either into “unique entertainment” or to be used as referees or whatever for official matches. You would fall into the former, but I could be called in for both unique battles and as a referee, because of my size.”
“Yeah, but why?”
“Tromos is the Raptor now. He makes the decisions. I think he does not like how the old Raptor did things, and wants to push more commercial angles for the Arenas.”
“Is that why a bunch of house fighters keep on having meetings with mister Tromos?”
“I think so. House Master Tanok has been trying to keep things as they are, so that house fighters with streaks can continue working towards them, but it is not going well.”
Levik frowned. “Would I still have a job?”
Abius shrugged. “Probably. You are too valuable to lose. And I think any house fighters who do beast matches or gimmick matches, we are fine. But Timik is concerned, so I am concerned too.”
“Ah… Alright, semi-related question, where is Psiksi? Like, I saw him a week ago, when he beat you in that match, but I haven’t seen him since!”
Abius slowed down completely, then sighed loudly. “He is not doing well. After our match, he came to meet me in the recovery ward and he looked somewhat pale. I suggested he speak to a medic, he wandered off, and I have not seen him since. He went to the Arksini hospital to get checked out there in private.”
Levik blinked in shock. “He’s ill? At the hospital?”
“He is not working currently. Timik and I tried to call him, but he has only responded saying that he is taking time off, and does not want to tell us why.”
“That’s…” Levik was at a loss for words. “That… is really bad… I… I ought to have known.”
Abius wiped off one of their hands, then patted Levik on the shoulder. “Psiksi has not told anyone, they… he is keeping his problems secret. I am very concerned as well.”
“Can we do anything?”
“Not really. But you could message him and ask him if he need anything. Psiksi has been rather cold with us. He may not be with you…”
Abius trailed off. They had reached the showers, and Timik had just stepped out of them.
“Heya, you two!” Timik seemed to be pretending to be chirpy. “How was Thirteenth Night, Abius?”
“It was fine. I need to wash myself though.”
Timik smiled half-heartedly. “Fair. Levik, you want to come to the canteen with me? Abius will rejoin us when they’re done.”
Levik shrugged. “Sure thing. See you later, Abius!”
Abius grunted in acknowledgement, then headed off. “See you both soon.”