The orange and yellow blur zipped by while Peacock was scraping his claws across multi-colored mushrooms for what felt like the fiftieth time. He whipped around with a snarl. Viseral might have caught him off guard before, but he’d be damned if it would happen again.
Viseral stood a foot away, a toothy grin on his face. He met Peacock’s gaze, then to his surprised, sat back on his haunches. Arianrhod, who had been digging away to their left, squared her shoulders and lowered her head like a bull about to charge. “Don’t even. No matter how amazing you think you are, there’s no way you can take both of us.”
“Come on, now.” Viseral snorted in derision and smirked. “Does this look like an attack position? Has being around the newb made you dumb?”
Peacock’s anger boiled up. He wanted to rip the cocky look right off his face. “I’ll take you on.” Thumping from behind him emphasized his challenge. It took him a minute to realize it was his tail hitting the ground.
Viseral’s smirk grew wider. “Oh, someone grew some balls. I’d say don’t bite off more than you can chew, but this is actually why I hunted you two down.”
“Tell us something we don’t know,” Arianrhod said.
“It’s not like that. I want to fight, but after… our parents lecture, I’ve agreed to play fight only.” He met Peacock’s eyes again. “No killing, and we stop as soon as someone goes under half health.”
Peacock growled. “Why should I believe anything you say?” As far as he could tell, Viseral was a typical griefer. Griefers lived to cause pain in any way they could, and if they could lure their prey into a trap first, all the more fun.
Arianrhod relaxed a bit. “Play fights are duels. Both parties have to agree, and both parties get a debuff after someone loses. Any attacks against each other within a minute after the play fights end results in a shock and temporary paralysis, making the would-be attacker easy prey.”
“Precisely,” Viseral said. “That wouldn’t work out well for me, now would it? Either way, fighting is a helluva lot more fun than digging for fungus, isn’t newb?”
Peacock’s tail, which had stopped thrashing during Arianrhod’s explanation, started again. Fun wasn’t the word he was looking for, but he was definitely itching for a fight. If dying wasn’t on the table, he was beyond ready. “Let’s do it.”
Arianrhod stepped between them. “Don’t move, Peacock, until Viseral offers a play fight. When he does, Aisha will ask for confirmation….”
“Done,” Viseral interrupted.
PLAY FIGHT OFFER INITIATED
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
Aisha’s voice echoed through Peacock’s skull.
ACCEPT?
Hell yeah. “Accepted.”
Arianrhod sighed and moved away, leaving Peacock and Viseral to stare at each other as Aisha counted down.
10… 9….
Viseral hissed at Peacock. “Ready to lose, dumbass?”
7… 6….
“Who says I’ll be the one losing?” Peacock crouched low, like he’d seen Arianrhod do.
3… 2….
“Anyone with sense.”
FIGHT!
Viseral launched toward him, maw wide open. Peacock swiped at his muzzle but proved too slow. His claws scraped down Viseral’s neck at the same time Viseral clamped down on his. Peacock ignored the shock of pain and clamped down on Viseral’s neck in turn. Peacock reared, tearing at the flesh in his mouth as he brought both clawed hands up and into his opponent’s chest. Sweet, sticky warmth filled his mouth, bringing with it an animalistic desire for more. Viseral reacted a second behind. He followed Peacock’s movement, a chunk of his flesh staying in Peacock’s mouth.
Neither willing to cede ground, both wrenched their heads and flailed at the other’s chest. Peacock took a gamble. He pulled his head back, tearing away the chunk of flesh he’d been chewing on.
PEACOCK WINS
HEALTH LOCKED IN 3… 2… 1….
Viseral jumped back and roared, a ridiculously squeaky sound that, combined with the high from the fight, pushed Peacock’s giddiness over the edge. He burst out laughing.
PLAY FIGHT COOLDOWN INITIATED
Peacock’s pain vanished. This wasn’t so bad after all.
HEALTH RESTORED
“How? How did you win? I hit you first!” Viseral continued to roar and yell, his complaints devolving into strings of curses. Viseral almost won, and Peacock knew it. He’d hit first, and with their otherwise mirrored actions and identical stats, Peacock would have hit the losing threshold first. That’s why Peacock had pulled away. He had gambled the sudden burst of damage would be just enough to edge Viseral past half health before him, and he had been right.
He was itching to know just how close the fight had been, but the insta-heal killed his chance. Whatever. He wanted to gloat a bit, and apparently, so did Arianrhod. She rolled on the floor, laughing so loud it could probably be heard outside the cave.
Viseral bared his teeth. His muscles trembled as he clenched and unclenched his hands, scratching long grooves into the stone floor. “Laugh it up, now. Once I’m out of this pathetic hatchling body and these dumbass rules, I’m going to rip you all to shreds.”
Peacock grinned. He was going to enjoy this as much as he could. “Right. Big words from the guy who just lost to a newb.”
“At least you know your place,” Viseral growled.
“I do. Far better than you, apparently.”
Arianrhod stood up and shook the dirt off her hide. “Okay, okay. Save it, you two. You’ve still got forty seconds before you can fight again.”
Viseral scoffed. “No, we can fight at any time. It’s the coddling that requires a timer.”
“Yes, we get it. Helping each other grow is a drag, and you’re a badass. Congratulations.” Arianrhod cocked her head and smiled. “I’m just wondering, if you’re so much better than us, what kind of incredible story who have about how you died. The Rebirth who killed you must have been the best of the best, right? So, what happened?”
“Maybe if the newb wins again, I’ll tell you.” Viseral snapped at Peacock. “Let’s see if beginner’s luck runs for more than one battle.”
As the timer in the corner of his eyes counted down the last seconds of the cooldown, Peacock grinned. Viseral was an asshole, but he was also right. With no threat of death, fighting was a helluva lot better than digging in a cave. “As if I’d need luck to take you down.”