Titanyana found herself in a tough spot. On the one hand, the noise of the crowd hurt like hell. It was for her, she knew that, but her ears just couldn't take it. On the other hand, in order to block out that sound she needed someone else's help. That someone was Donovan, who had elected to ignore the safety of his own ears to help cover hers.

His hands were much thicker than Titanyana's, so they were better at absorbing the sound, but now she found herself in an embarrassing position with her superior cupping what would normally be a very sensitive portion of her body. It was rude to touch the ears of a Nekh, less because it was anything sexual and more because they were easy to damage. You also had a fair bit of control over the rest of the body with a firm grip on them, most Nekh not wanting to damage their own ears, so it was a fairly common way for parents to calm their children down when rowdy.

She had to admit it felt pretty good though, which was yet another problem. Why did having her ears rubbed like this feel good? Usually when she scratched the backs of her ears it was because they were itchy, and it was only ever pleasure born of relief.

Titanyana looked up towards Donovan, starting to tear up from the various emotions she was feeling right now. Stressed out by the noises, yet calmed by the ear rubs. She couldn't hear anything, yet the beating of her heart was a clear as ever. She was embarrassed that she had to rely on Donovan to help her, yet intensely relieved that he was willing. She was sad that she had lost, yet happy she had Donovan to comfort her.

Well, that last part wasn't quite right. It wasn't that Donovan was going to comfort her, he would likely grill her about where she could improve, but he wasn't going to yell at her. Her father always yelled at her, at least after her mother died. She was certain that her father still loved her, he was just very scary to approach.

It was the primary reason she was so hesitant to return a failure, her father was an unpredictable character.

Now though, she wasn't nearly as afraid of him. Not because she would no longer be a failure, though that certainly helped, but because she had found herself in the clutches of someone far more terrifying. Someone she was currently pressing her head into out of desperation.

- - - - -

You would have to be deaf to not hear the crowd cheer after Titanyana's match, though even a deaf person would be able to feel it. And no mistake should be made, Cholst may have won, but that was Titanyana's match. At this point, this was Titanyana's tournament. There was already clamoring for her remaining fights to be given the same attention as the winner's bracket.

"What should we do?" One of the Marshall's aides approached him about the subject, nervously. There wasn't precedent for this.

The Marshall did not immediately give a response. If it was up to him, he would go ahead and show her matches the same as the winner's bracket. Having an audience cheer you on built confidence, even if you lost, and the Marshall loved cultivating talented individuals. The question he found himself trying to answer was if he could.

He wanted to, everyone else wanted him to, but would that really be okay? He had to maintain neutrality, that was his primary objective at all times, but would broadcasting her matches violate that? He could see cases for and against.

"We still have time to make a decision. I shall send a missive to the Arboreal Maiden."

He had already failed her once, in his eyes at least. He would not allow himself to betray her trust so quickly again. In a position like this, it was best to defer to authority.

"There will be no need for that."

- - - - -

Titanyana separated from Donovan when the levee went airborne. The noise was farther away, and there was the levee itself to block out some of the sound coming from below, but the real reason was the she felt it inappropriate to stand there like that.

It took nerves of steel for her to walk back out onto the field. The crowd wasn't nearly as loud as before, which was a relief, but now she was acutely aware they were watching her, not her opponent.

"Rematch?" Her opponent, sporting green hair and swinging about two spears, teased Titanyana for some pre-match banter. Zhoie was naturally quite ecstatic to find her opponent was Titanyana. "We get to go all out now!"

"Mhm."

Titanyana was too nervous for words beyond that. If Zhoie was happy, good for her, but Titanyana was more concerned about the millions of eyes focused on her.

"Just ignore them." Zhoie, an upperclassman, tried giving Titanyana some advice. "Just focus on me. What they think about you is irrelevant." Zhoie sunk into a combat stance before returning to rest, she was warming herself up. "What's important is that we get to have a fun fight."

Titanyana's ears flattened ever so slightly. "But they are so loud. . ."

"Then cover your ears. I just want to see which one of us is better." Zhoie spun her spears in her hands. "Well, it's more like I want to fight you for realsies this time. Don't you think for a second that I'm going to fall for those same tricks again."

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Titanyana immediately thought of trying the exact same move she had first used to dispatch Zhoie in their spar, stopping herself once she understood how much of a mistake that might be. Zhoie was probably the forgetful type, but she wasn't stupid. At least Titanyana didn't get the impression she was stupid. Looks could be deceiving.

- - - - -

Trebar had moved his seat to the edge of the levee, looking over the edge to watch the duels below. Of course his primary intent was to watch the fights his subordinates were participating in, but scouting the talent of other individuals was also a priority. He might not need that information, but it would help his weaker subordinates form plans when placed into a situation where they had to fight them.

"Oh? Are Titanyana and Zhoie going to have their final match?"

"Sorry?" Zulf, who was in the midst of chowing down on a sandwich, didn't understand exactly what his leader meant.

"It isn't anything you need to concern yourself over. When we went to visit Donovan, Zhoie and the woman she is facing down right now had a spar. I believe the final score was twelve to zero."

"So it'll be an easy win for Zhoie then."

Trebar wanted to laugh at the misunderstanding, but he held himself back. "I'm afraid it was the other way around." Trebar turned away from the dumbstruck Zulf and asked Gawan a question. "She was the one who took out Kerefel, wasn't she?"

"If you are referring to giving him his first loss, then yes. I believe she was beaten by Cholst though."

"Unsurprising. Cholst is a bad matchup for someone who fights like she does. He is faster than her after all." Trebar's eyes drifted to Titanyana's levee. "I wonder how Donovan did."

"Probably not great all things considered." Gawan didn't hesitate to dash any hopes of a miracle. "Even if he could use split, he has no idea how to fight with it yet."

"True, but I've got a feeling he held out for a good amount of time. I can attest to how tough he is, and he doesn't strike me as the type to give up just because he knows he will lose."

"Ohoho?" A monotone laugh from his best friend. "Got a little man crush?"

"Maybe." A monotone return. "Truth be told I see potential in him. Think it would be okay if I start sparring with him?"

"And deny Titanyana her job? I would advise against it." Gawan didn't want Trebar going overboard, he was pushing the limits of what the Montaug would allow as is. "Montaug thinks participating in this tournament is going overboard."

"Yeah? Well he can shove it. He's got a job to do, I get that, but I've only got so much time to be free."

"More ambitious overtures?" Gawan was joking, speaking as if his thoughts were being laid out.

"Perhaps. I just don't want to regret not doing something while I'm out here."

"Gonna go to a party or two?"

"I don't have plans to."

"Going to find love? A childish romance in your fleeting time here?"

"I'm faithful to Zhoie, as much as she doesn't like the arrangement."

"Ah, so a coup is it? I'll be sure to keep it a secret from the Montaug."

"They're starting."

- - - - -

swish

Zhoie's spear met nothing but air as she whipped it around to where Titanyana disengaged from. She had managed to defend herself in the opening engagement, which was better than her performance during their spar, but she had definitely not come out ahead. Zhoie was bleeding in several places on her arms and legs, and she was losing feeling in her right foot. Zhoie, who could not win when in an 'equal' position, realized this battle was going to be a loss.

Not being able to feel her foot meant that leg was not going to be as responsive as it normally would, a vulnerability that Zhoie absolutely believed Titanyana would pick up on. This next little engagement was probably going to be the last, if not that then the one after.

That didn't mean she was about to give up though.

"Ahaha-HA!" Zhoie charged, fire in her eyes. She was losing, but she was having fun.

Titanyana followed suit, meeting the manic Zhoie head on. As 'head on' as Titanyana ever took engagements at least. Zhoie had no plan here, she didn't have the brainpower after the events of the day, so she just swung and stabbed wildly.

A diagonal slash towards Titanyana's shoulder was dodged, while the follow-up stab was batted aside. The pair of strikes blunted Titanyana's assault, stopping her from immediately claiming Zhoie's life, but now she was in the danger zone. Desperately, Zhoie brought one of her spears close to her body, barely warding off Titanyana's counterstrike.

For her trouble, Zhoie received a gash on her cheek. It was evidence of how poor a defensive method one handing a spear was, it was too long and too heavy. Zhoie tried to push her back with a punch from her left hand, but that wasn't exactly going to land on such a nimble target. Instead Titanyana extended her arm, stabbing Zhoie underneath the shoulder.

"Tch." Titanyana expressed her annoyance with that outcome. She was aiming for the shoulder proper, just below it wasn't nearly as debilitating.

Still Zhoie was forced to grit her teeth to stomach the pain, jerking backwards ever to avoid the slash headed for her neck. In a snap decision, Zhoie completely abandoned the spear on the side she had just been damaged, electing to hold the remaining one with both of her hands. She had decided that victory was impossible from the start, Titanyana just had too many cards to play against her limited mobility. It might take a few passes for Titanyana to actually land the kill under optimal circumstances, but Zhoie lacked the fundamental ability to land a hit on her.

Now she was fully on the defensive, focusing everything on lasting that little bit longer. She might not be able to parry a stab like this, but she could make it so that it wasn't a deep wound. Still, bleeding was bleeding, and she was beginning to lose track of the blade. Blinking was the last mistake Zhoie made that battle, sluggishly opening her eyes to find Titanyana's sword sticking out of her throat. She had enough time to 'live' to see her own blood trickle down it too.

- - - - -

Titanyana preemptively covered her ears this time around, a wise decision all things considered, and hustled on back to the levee. Zhoie didn't care that she wasn't showing her any manners afterwards, she knew Titanyana was struggling with them from the start, but she did give Donovan a nod from the far circle. Zhoie, independent of the opinion of someone who actually taught swordplay, had come to the conclusion that he was in the right hands.

Only then did she truly understand why Titanyana was so anxious about the crowd, as a wall of sound reached her Zhoie nearly fell off of her feet.

"No wonder she was shaking like that!" Zhoie herself felt the need to cover her ears. She had never seen the crowd like this, and she had seen quite a few crowds in her time. "Gods! This is title level stuff!"

Once back on the levee, she urged the helmsman to get them up and away from the crowd in much the same way as Titanyana's levee. He was all too eager to oblige her.