The dreaded day has finally come. Annie felt trembling in her paws as she was washing herself in the shower. And yet her training finally came to bear fruit. She slept soundly that night, despite all her worries. Her wounds were healed, but the command insisted that all injured personnel take some additional days off. And if her wounds were healed, then so too were the wounds of…
She called Dragena, apologizing for being unable to pick up the cubs today. The warlord told her not to worry, stating that this was of no concern. She has already asked the shaman Hilda to escort the cubs.
Annie looked in the mirror and pressed her paws together, praying for help. The Spirits were silent, as usual, but the mere fact of intoning words of prayer in her mind allowed the young woman to calm down. She looked over herself, running her fingers over the scars that Virginia left on her face. She felt anger, mixed with bitterness. She touched the insides of her nostrils, remembering the humiliation that she felt, allowing hatred to burn away the fear, if just for a short while. Alas, her anger was not a satisfying feeling, for it was neither cold nor certain. She was angry at Svetka for being stupid. She was angry at herself for being unable to protect her sister. She felt anger at Virginia, for always appearing in her life and ruining everything. And finally, at the world, for never allowing things to go her way.
Ok, enough with this shit. Annie shook her head, storming out of the bathroom. Grabbing her things from the locker, she put on her clothes, taking deep breaths to calm herself. The first thing she did was to check if members of her pack were healthy. One of the Branded had a minor stomach pain, and Annie commanded him to show himself to the medics. She checked if every member of her pack was present, ran them through a training course to see how Kayleen was handling things in Annie’s absence. The results were more than satisfactory, Lucendra disarmed a dummy mine, allowing the pack to storm a training building and take down bots who played the role of enemies. Carty used her sniper rifle to assist her team in "taking down" mechs armed with heavy weaponry, while Kayleen and her team freed the "hostages" allowing Annie and other scouts to finish off the "heads" of the enemy force. The physical and morale of the pack were at adequate levels, even though their wolf hag and their scouts did not use physical force to motivate the members. Upon finishing the daily training and receiving a report from the medics that the sick soldier somehow managed to swallow a poison bug during the running exercise and will have to spend the night in the infirmary, Annie sent her pack to rest, briefly visiting the Branded to cheer him on.
She charged toward the training halls, jumping over the stairs. Her paws trembled again upon reaching the door’s handle, and Annie angrily bit her own tongue all the way to the blood. Be calm! Calm like a water stream. The woman angrily thought, opening the doors and stepping inside. Adults deal with the hand dealt to them by fate.
She was greeted by numerous faces. The entire Virginia’s pack, over a hundred people, were present here, sitting, pretending to be doing exercises, yet all of them looked curiously at the podium. Svetlana was already inside, making stretching exercises. Other wolfkins looked at her, the nurse was missing her badge of noncombatant, instincts to find out who was stronger were burning in them. And yet no one dared challenge Svetlana. No one was foolish enough to challenge a sparring partner who belonged to the wolf hag.
"Are you seriously going to do it?" Annie angrily asked Svetka, looking down on her.
"Yes," The stubborn fool replied, standing up. She cracked her knuckles, trying to look brave. Yet Annie could see nervousness in her posture, an occasional licking of lips, "I am going to prove to you, that you don’t need to protect me."
"You are going to get crushed," Annie put her paw on the shoulders of her sister, "Listen, don’t do it, ok? Let’s say that you already won over me, and you come back to the Core Lands safe and so…"
Svetlana stepped onto the sparring podium, shrugging off Annie's paws. She was smaller than Annie, her build was lean, and not a single scar covered her magnificent hide. This piqued the interest of all the wolfkins inside the room. Annie could practically read their thoughts. Who is she? Why is she without a mark on her? Is she that strong? Svetka walked to the center of the podium, her movements elegant, yet in every step, in every move of her arm, there was nervousness and uncertainty. Her steps were a bit too slow, as if she were a prisoner being escorted to a place of execution. She raised her arms in a combat stance, but that was the stance of a complete amateur. Her fist barely protected her head, and another arm would offer no help against an attack in her midsection.
Virginia stepped onto the podium, brimming with energy and looking healthy once more. She spread her arms wide, her wrists nearly as thick as Svetlana’s shoulders. The smile gave her a beautiful expression, despite her ruined body. Her scars looked like medals, her movements were confident and assured. She was wearing tight shorts and a t-shirt with long sleeves. Annie begrudgingly noticed that Virginia had finally learned how to treat and clean her clothes.
"Hey." A voice behind Annie said. She turned around and saw Carty. Behind her, Kayleen, Lucendra, and other members of Annie’s pack were streaming into the training hall, making the place crowded. One of the wolfkins from the Virginia pack wanted to snap at Lucendra, but the smaller warrior offered her fellow some chips. Two women sat side by side, looking at the podium, chewing food.
"What are you doing here?" Annie’s eyes narrowed. Right now, the pack has some free time, but they should still spend it training or reading. Or resting.
"Just dropping by wolf hag. In case of anything." Carty bowed to the wolf hag before turning to the podium.
Virginia walked toward her opponent, a mountain of muscle in front of a tiny hill. The wolf hag looked straight ahead, way above the head of her opponent. Svetlana’s posture dropped once the shadow of her opponent fell on her.
Just one or two hits. To give Svetka an idea of how dangerous it is here. Annie thought, coming closer to the podium and clenching her fists. Virginia raised her paw, looking at it, turning her paw up and down. OK, one hit, no more. Sveta will surely be afraid enough to run all the way back to the Core Lands. A claw slid from the finger of Virginia, looking thicker than the finger of her opponent. Ok, no hit, no hit at all!
The arm of Virginia shot forward, and so too did Annie, leaving footprints in the ground. She felt air hit across her fur, her vision became a tunnel, focused on the two fighters on the podium. Time slowed down to a crawl, and she found herself standing in front of Svetlana, ready to redirect a hit…
Ready to redirect a hit that never came. Virginia was sitting cross-legged before Svetlana, scratching her own back with a claw. Annie felt the feeling coming from the outside of the arena, entire pack of Virginia had frozen in anger, ready to charge in and support their wolf hag.
"So, I was thinking," Virginia said, utterly ignoring Annie and the tension outside of the ring. She gestured to Sveta, "You are smart, right? Finished this university or something..."
"Annie?" Svetlana briefly asked the back of her sister, before looking at Virginia, "Y… yes, I did."
"Cool! Can you help me finish the online school?" Annie could literally feel how the tense feeling was dissipating, the wolfkins outside of the arena were confused, even Carty raised her brow. Virginia smiled guilty, "I tried, honest! Three times! But each time teachers leave me for the second year due to my problems with understanding algebra… Artistry… Literature… Come to think of it, quite a lot of things," Virginia took herself by the chin, assuming a serious expression for a moment before smiling again, "So… care to help me out?"
"S…Sure, why not." Svetlana replied, looking around in uncertainty.
Annie looked first at her sister with disbelief, before turning back to Virginia, sizing her up. The wolf hag was sitting with both of her arms behind her back and smiling into the face of Annie.
"What in the name of the Abyss was this about?!" Annie shouted, both confused and relieved at the same time. But more so, she felt angry. So unbelievably, unbelievably angry. This idiot made a fool out of her once more. If a fool makes a fool out of you, then what does it say about you? She heard the teacher’s voice inside her head.
"Well, it is how it is…" Virginia scratched her head, "I was looking for help, so I asked for help," She jumped on her feet, wrapping her right arm around Svetlana’s shoulders and looking at the faces of both packs, "This is my teacher now. Any bitch or whoreson who wants to challenge her must first go through me. I, the wolf hag of Alpha’s pack, claim this as the rule for all packs. Anyone feeling fighsty, come on, we’ll settle it right here, right now!" No one was stupid enough to challenge the wolf hag, and Virginia let go of Svetlana, rocking her shoulders, and walking down from the podium.
"A moment," Annie asked, and the fellow wolf hag turned around, "About what I promise to you," Annie felt the eyes of Svetka on the back of her head and ignored it, feeling annoying humiliation spreading all around her body, "Name your reward."
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
The massive form of the rust-colored wolfkin stopped. She turned back, slowly, yet fluidly, the perfect example of holding back physical might. The wild and foolish smile was gone from the lips, now they were pressed in a thin line, while amber eyes sized up Annie.
"But you already know," Virginia said quietly, raising her fists in front of her face and keeping her shoulders down, "we both want the same thing."
Annie smiled back, reaching for Sveta and throwing her back, into the arms of Carty.
"Anyone who touches the nurse, we’ll be dealing with me!" Virginia and Annie shouted at the same time, looking surprised at each other before laughing out loud. Finally, they composed themselves, and Annie said, "Other than that, feel free to have fun. Alpha pack against Dragena pack. No permanent injuries or claws are allowed! Throw the fight rather than injure the opponent!"
"You heard the wolf hag! Put your pride on the line! Also, the loser pays for the dinner!" Virginia jumped in place, eager to begin, while other wolfkins climbed onto the podium, taking place beside their wolf hag.
Lucendra, the other Branded, a few wolfkins from Annie’s pack, and several wolfkins from Virginia’s pack decided to sit this one out. Annie bore them no animosity, but rather respected their decision. They knew that they couldn’t contribute to the brawl without risking serious injuries to themselves, thus they judged right and stepped away.
The training hall was split in two between two groups of wolfkins. Annie stood up, the right paw in front of her face in the form of a cup. The other arm, mimicking the gesture yet standing behind the back. There was no announcer to begin the sparring match, Virginia simply loudly howled and charged at Annie. Her pack followed after her like a raging stream of water out of a broken dam.
The wolf hag punched with her right arm, turning the punch into a thrust and aiming for Annie’s neck. Like a one-trick pony. Would it kill you to start more elegantly? Annie thought, remembering this movement from their first fight. Her right paw moved, gracefully covering the incoming strike and pushing it aside, over her shoulder. Her left arm moved, landing a cruel chop over the Virginia’s neck, right in the place where the neck connected to the shoulder. The force behind the blow caused the stone beneath Virginia’s legs to explode, and the wolf hag growled in appreciation of the hit. She responded with a kick. A simple kick of her left leg, timed to the same moment when Annie was retracting her left arm. This kick landed between the legs of Annie, sending her into the air.
Two wolfkins from Virginia’s pack jumped in the air, eager to make a follow-up attack in the name of their leader. Annie landed her paws against their eyes, weaving around their kicks. She did not use the living whip, but rather simple slaps instead. With her physicals, it was enough to make them weep against their will. She landed along with them, grabbing both confused wolfkins by their shoulders, their vision still murky from the tears in their eyes. In a single motion, she turned them to face her and landed an elbow strike in their solar plexuses, pushing them aside. For a few moments, they would have trouble gasping for air, but Annie pulled her punches against them, making sure not to hurt them too much. Loyalty must be rewarded.
Virginia threw two wolfkins aside from herself, splattering them against the walls. She came face to-face with Carty, spreading her arms wide and raising her fists over her own head. Carty ignored the posture of her opponent, landing a crushing blow with her right into Virginia’s chest. The wolf hag grumbled in admiration when her body moved back an inch, leaving footprints in the stone ground. The arms of Virginia moved, and Carty barely had the time to take on the incoming attack on her forearms. The force behind Virginia’s blow brought her to her knees.
Annie charged to help, starting a kick aimed at the back of Virginia’s head. A wolfkin appeared before her, her kick flawlessly landed on Annie’s knee, pushing the leg back onto the ground. Pardon, what? Annie blinked, stepping back when the wolfkin before her made two feints with her left leg, aiming for Annie’s snout. Annie’s opponent moved after the wolf hag using a well-timed jump of her right leg, her movements were economic and practical, so unlike the brutish examples of Virginia’s might. Her technique was good, but predictable. She should have kicked after the first feint, not allowing Annie to get used to her movements. Annie caught the kick aimed at her face, aimed to twitch the leg of her opponent. Instead of panicking, the wolfkin used Annie’s hold as a foothold and landed a brutal kick into Annie’s abdomen with her right leg. Ok, she is good! If this was a real fight, her claws would have shredded my intestines! Annie thought, feeling adoration. She did not consider herself a master of martial arts, she was far too green for this. But Annie could and did respect a well-trained and well-performed technique. Her opponent struck with fingers rather than with her whole foot, all too used to execute a well-crafted killing technique in a single way. Without a doubt, this was something to take down in Virginia. But right now, it barely caused a blood to appear on Annie’s lips. Holding her opponent with her left paw by the leg, Annie pulled her back, aiming her punch right at the belly of her opponent, not holding back as a sign of respect. Her opponent was a bit green, she was unused to the restraints in a fight, but she obeyed the rules flawlessly. She barely managed to take a blow on her forearms, slightly arresting the impact, before Annie pushed her arm forward, landing the punch in the belly and causing the woman to gasp in pain. In time, this youngster will become a great wolf hag. Annie decided that she would ask Carty to give this woman a few pointers after a fight, they have something to learn from each other. Annie spun her around and threw her opponent into Carty, sending them both away from Virginia. Let them sort it between themselves, while the wolf hag will take on the wolf hag.
Annie jumped, landing a kick across Virginia’s snout the moment she turned to the left, trying to face Annie. The smile on the wolf hag’s face quickly disappeared, when Virginia grabbed Annie by the sides, turned her face down and slammed her into the ground. Annie threw up, feeling the stone crashing beneath her body. Her legs moved, wrapping themselves around Virginia’s neck. A move from Olympiada, Virginia either allows herself to be choked or will allow herself to be thrown away. The wolf hag chose the latter, Annie threw her forward, jumping on both legs to face her opponent.
Annie raised both arms up, taking an overhead kick from Virginia onto the forearms. She pushed the kick to the right and, as the leg of Virginia touched the ground and the wolf hag turned to face Annie, quickly moved forward, striking with her left elbow into the stomach of the rust-colored wolfkin. Virginia gasped from pain, as the force behind the blow sent her backwards. Annie wanted to follow up with a thrusting attack using the palm of her right paw straight into the snout of her opponent, when the paws of Virginia grabbed her by the shoulders, making the thrust lose its mark, glancing at the cheek of the wolf hag instead. Annie ended up being pulled forward, right into the incoming knee of her opponent, and it was now Annie’s turn to gasp as a strong hit beat the air out of her lungs, sending her flying backward.
Dammit, dammit, dammit! Annie felt excitement taking over her. Virginia was strong. And despite her brutish appearance, there was a cunning to her, she adapted to every move of Annie's way too soon, always finding a way to break the chain of her follow-up attacks. All the better. It'll be extasy when you crawl in front of me. Wait, do I still want it? At least I must win! Annie let her arms become loose, allowing her body to let go of tension and fear of defeat. Nothing is set in stone. Virginia was stronger than her, grappling won’t do Annie any good. Redirection was also out of options, for all that it granted to Annie so far was a hit in exchange for being hit. In a battle of stamina, Virginia will win. The sound paw and the living whip are both too dangerous to use here, she wanted to win, not to kill or maim her friend. This left Annie with only one choice.
Her body moved forward, the world before her became a tunnel, in which only she and Virginia existed. She charged past her foe at a speed far greater than anything she could react to. Her elbow began to move prior to her movement, landing a brutal hit across the ribs of her foe, causing Virginia to spasm from pain and spit blood on the floor. I didn’t go too hard, right? Annie thought in a mild panic, ending her movement in a roll in order to stop safely. The precise and excellent flash step that she executed against Palatine was no more, no matter how she tried, she could not replicate the miracle that descended upon her in this fight.. It aggravated the wolf hag to no end, she tried to repeat the motions again and again, but could find no answer as to what she was lacking. She was simply too green. But botched or not, the flash step still turned her into a blur before Virginia’s eyes, even this idiot could not hope to beat something she could not possibly react to. Victory is mine by right! Annie thought, assuming the stance once more and charging forward the moment Virginia turned to face her. This time she aimed for…
Pain speared her, throwing her back away from Virginia. A dent appeared on her belly, and Annie vomited her dinner onto the floor, falling on her knees and allowing the force behind the blow to slide her body away from Virginia. The rust-colored wolf hag knelt, pressing a paw against her armpit and frowning in agony. Annie intended to slam a palm against Virginia’s temple, but her counterattack messed up Annie’s attack, and instead she landed a hit on the armpit.
"H… how?" Annie asked incredulously.
"You just charges in a stra… stra… forward," Virginia hiccupped with blood, "Even an idiot would learn to put an elbow in your path," She spat some more blood, standing up on her trembling legs, "Annie, you ok?"
"Gu… guess so, Virginia. Are you ok?" Annie responded, standing up as well, wondering why no one had bothered to attack them yet. Her abdomen hurt like crazy, but not a single vital organ was ruptured or damaged. At least, that's what she thought. So far so good.
"G…golden. Time to finish it."
"C… could not put it better myself."
They stood up, preparing for one last charge at each other. Annie was unsure of what exactly she could do to drop Virginia. Her experience screamed at her to go lethal, for she was physically weaker than her opponent. Virginia already no longer trembled, while Annie’s legs were still shaking. But breaking the rules first? Screw that. If I lose, then so be it. Annie thought with fake bravery, feeling desperation creeping in, messing with her focus. She did not enjoy this fight anymore. Win, she only wanted to win. To reclaim what was lost and move on with her life. And Virginia was smiling. Enjoys my misery, eh? Let’s see if I can wipe out this smirk.
"Enough." A voice said, and a wave of terror hit everyone inside the training hall, stopping everyone inside. Kayleen let go of her opponent, helping the woman back on her feet. Annie stopped mid charge, nearly falling and feeling like someone dropped a bucket with ice cold water onto her Virginia straightened herself up, standing at attention with a glint of fear in her eyes. The all-out fight within the hall stopped in an instant, no matter the bravado, no matter the fury, every single person within knew, on some deep instinct level, that they had to stop. Or they will be stopped by force.