A Fight!

Did I hear him correctly?

This pretty boy wants to fight Claire.

Was this even fair?

Not that I was showing concern for Claire, as I knew she could take care of herself, but a one-on-one fight against a guy is anything but fair, in my opinion.

“Not to burst your bubble of arrogance or anything, pal, but how is you fighting against a girl even fair,” I said questioningly to Zane.

Claire glanced at me, beaming excitedly after hearing me defend her that I could see her reach over and grab me in a tight bear hug.

“So, you do care about me,” she said shyly.

I wanted to clarify the situation, as this wasn’t my intention when Zane suddenly interrupted us.

“I’m not such a low life that I would stoop so low as to fight a girl, especially one that will be mine in the future. No, what I had in mind was a different type of fight,” he said with an evil grin.

“OH, really, then what type of fight are you referring to,” said Claire curiously.

“I want us to have a beast match!” he said.

“Beast fighting? Are you serious,” Claire responded, intrigued.

“Yes, if I remember correctly, you’re going off to the Starfall University in Europa in about a month to be a beastmaster,” said Zane.

“Lucky for you, I’m going to that same university. So, let's fight to see who the better beast master is, and we can settle it with winner-take-all stakes,” he continued.

Although Zane was already 25 years old, when he found out that Claire had enrolled in Starfall, he asked his father to pull some strings to get him into the same university. He figured he could eventually win her over if he had Claire alone without me.

Claire's face showed a questioning look regarding what Zane referred to with the “winner takes all” comment. Zane also seemed to notice this and quickly clarified.

“It's simple, Claire. If you win, I will leave you and this beggar alone in the future,” he said smugly as he pointed at me.

“What if you win,” retorted Claire as she gave an unruly stare.

“Yes, if I win, it’s also straightforward: you’ll just have to leave the beggar and not interact with him anymore. That means no talking, phone calls, or mysterious rendezvous,” he said.

Claire’s eyes grew wide with surprise. I was taken aback as well. I figured he would ask her for more; I had imagined he would say she needed to be by his side and cater to his every whim. It was surprising he didn’t say that.

“Doesn’t seem equal. Are you sure this is all?” she asked Zane cautiously.

“Yes, it's as simple as that. If you win, I walk away and don’t look back; if I win, you walk away from him and don’t look back,” said Zane in a confident tone.

Standing next to me, Claire seemed to be having trouble deciding what to do.

“What if I say no to the fight? What then?” she asked.

Zane smiled, but her face showed an evil intent.

“Nothing much, but like I said before, anything can happen to anyone at any moment here in Serenity. We don’t know what the future holds, so maybe Daemon is fine today, but what about tomorrow when you are gone?” he said with a wicked stare.

I could see the concern on Claire’s face as she heard what Zane had just said. I was about to tell her not to worry about me, to do what she thought was best, but before I could speak, she had already accepted.

“I’ll do it,” she said while she grabbed my hand.

Zane quickly noticed the gesture, and the veins on his neck and forehead bulged like snakes slithering under his skin.

“Ok, it's good you understand the seriousness of the issue. We will set the fight for three weeks from now to give each other time to get ready,” said Zane coldly as he started walking away.

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“Oh, and don’t think about skipping out; it wouldn’t be good. If I see you or him trying to leave before the fight, I won’t be responsible for what could happen to either of you,” he shouted as he left with his entourage.

How the hell did I end up in the middle of this lover's quarrel when all I wanted was to watch the fight in peace? I knew Claire was good with beasts. She had been around them since she was small, but fighting them was completely different.

“Claire, have you thought this through rationally,” I asked her calmly. “Zane is a rich asshole that probably has some really good Stellar Beasts under his belt. He also runs the BR arena, so he probably has experience from fighting here for years. This won't be an easy fight, Claire.”

“I know, Daemon, but I’m not worried. When I applied to the university, I placed in the top 10 incoming first-year students, so I think I did pretty well in the fighting test. I also have two very decent Stellar Beasts,” she said, full of confidence as she stared into my eyes.

“Let's not worry about this now; let's go over to our booth and enjoy the fight,” she said as she dragged me off toward the seats.

The rest of the day passed without any other unexpected situations. Before the main event, there were four sub-fights.

“I can’t believe how fast Ekene moved up on the rankings. She just started her fighting career not even a year ago, and she is already fighting on the undercards for this main event,” said Claire with an admiring stare.

“Yeah, she is one heck of a beast master. It doesn’t hurt that she has a flame-tailed horned lizard and a lighting mountain hound as two of her three fighting pets,” I said while watching the fight.

The flame lizard and the lightning hounds were top-notch elite Stellar Beasts, and although they might sound like earthly pets, don’t let the names fool you. They were named this way due to their resemblance to their earthly doubles, but rest assured, they were anything but friendly pets. They were hard to catch and even harder to tame.

So, connecting to one was already a blessing; having two showed you had excellent abilities.

“What I wouldn’t give to have a beast half as good as one of hers,” said Claire, sighing somberly.

We continued to watch the fights for the next couple of hours. When it was time for the main event, Claire got up and walked to the booth ledge. She put her elbows on the ledge, resting her head on her hands.

“Daemon, do you think I can make it to the top like an Ekene or maybe a member of a great team like Atlas,” she asked while staring out into the large 3-D Holographic Display where the fights were transmitted.

“That’s my dream. I want to make it big to control my destiny and put our town in the spotlight. I want people to recognize us and say look, that’s Claire, and she came from Titan.”

I looked at her and felt a tinge of guilt. Not because I thought I did anything wrong but because I really didn’t share the same dreams as her. I didn’t want to be famous or in the spotlight. All I wanted was some peace and to live a quiet life.

We were not meant to be, and this just proved that.

“I think you can, Claire. It might require hard work and serious sacrifices, but if you really want it, I think you can make it,” I said indifferently.

She looked back at me and smiled, but I could see a trace of sorrow in her eyes.

The main fight lasted about another hour. In the end, Team Atlas beat out the team from Hellas U. and claimed the right to the exploration trip to the Mars Gate.

As we walked back from the BR arena, it was already 7 p.m.; Claire was awfully quiet. Usually, she would blow up my ear with her charmingly aggrieved and blunt honesty antics.

“Is everything ok, Claire?” I asked as she was just too quiet.

“Yes,” she responded, but her eyes were distant, as if she was far away.

“Good. Well, here we are at your uncle's, so have a good night. Oh, and please don’t worry about the fight with Zane. I can take care of myself, so if you need to go, go and don’t worry about me,” I said as I escorted her up the front door of Invictus.

She turned around, and her eyes showed sorrow and disappointment.

“Would you really be ok with me leaving like that? Would you not miss me at all, Daemon?” she asked.

I looked at her and answered her honestly.

“As long as you are safe, I am okay with any outcome,” I said, stepping back.

“I said it before, Claire: You and I are not meant to be, so do not risk your well-being for me,” I told her as I left.

As I walked away, I could hear the slight whimpers of crying. I knew I was being too blunt, but I was not going to stop. The distance had to stay; this was the only way to do it.

I continued to walk into the darkness as I moved away from the city. After all that happened today, I still had to deal with that ungrateful mutt in my house.

“He has been alone for almost the whole day. I wonder what destruction has befallen my house by now,” I told myself as I walked towards my house.

After about 15 minutes of walking, I could see the faint lights of my home on the horizon. As I approached, the inevitable sounds of howling caught my attention.

Aaoohhh, Aaoohhh, Aaoohhh

“Shit, this is not going to be good.”

When I approached the front door, the howling stopped. Very gently, I opened the door and walked in. The living room was a mess. The couch cushions were thrown and torn on the floor, and the couch was torn apart. The chairs on the table were gnawed and broken, and boxes and cans of stored food I had in the pantry were strewn all over the floor.

“Fuck this,” was my only thought after seeing the destruction in my living room.

“Fucker, where you at,” I screamed as I walked with heavy steps to the kitchen. It was even worse than the living room as I looked at it. All my plates and kitchen utensils were broken or chewed. Trash was everywhere.

“Fuck!” I screamed at the top of my lungs.

I exited the kitchen and headed straight towards my bedroom on the second floor. I could hear movement coming from inside.

“I know you are in there, you little shit; I’m going to break your leg and take you back out to the forest where I found you,” I said as I opened the door.

What I saw as I came in left me dumbfounded.

The mutt was on top of my bed, looking at me apprehensively. But what caught my attention were his eyes and chest stripes. Both had a glowing hue of blue and golden colors, and a very strong, oppressive pressure was coming from him.

“What the hell is going on here!”