The second an announcement rang out signaling the end of the first two games, Cross was on his feet and ready to go. Watching through the crystals had put him on the edge of his seat, constantly pushing him to the limit of his nerves. His tail had wacked more than one now-irritable Rose as he jumped and settled with the flow of the action.

Part of him wanted to linger in the stands--to make sure Hawthorne and Sia were okay--but the rest of him was too pumped for his own turn. His mana sank into his shadow almost of its own accord, swirling wisps around his feet as his tail batted through the air. The near-transparent, black tendrils caressed his ankles, but nothing else without spells to guide them.

Soon, Cross promised, then focused. There was one thing he needed to do before leaving.

He climbed atop his seat to give him a bit of a boost, before scanning the crowd of guild members and civilians alike that littered the stands around them. It didn't take him long to spot the silver-haired man he was looking for and--before anyone could catch onto what he was doing--he waved his hand wildly in the air.

"Good luck, Lis! Kick ass!"

Cross scrambled down from his perch the second he'd finished, before darting off for the exit that would take them down into the competitor's arena. He didn't bother to glance over his shoulder for Lock, knowing that the Rose would be at his back like always.

He was reliable like that.

As predicted, Lock drew even with Cross on the stairs.

"Try to reign it in during the game. We don't know what we're going to be up against," Lock requested, tone bemused and mild.

Cross bobbed his head agreeably. His weight shifted to the heels of his feet as they paused at the base of the stairs behind several other competitors as the group seemed to hesitate on which direction to go. The matter was solved as an attendant called out their game, waving them in a different direction.

"Don't worry," he reassured Lock. "I have no intentions of messing things up. Imagine how lame it would be to have to be carried or teleported out."

His mind flicked to Sky and her obvious irritation when said teleporting had happened to her.

"I'm all slept up and ready!"

His early-morning hangover had worn away with the building of his excitement. There was still a dull throbbing in the back of his head, a vague memory of being chased out of bed when he would have liked to linger in it, but all of that seemed pale in comparison of what was to come.

"What do you think a coliseum fight entails?"

Lock didn't answer right away. Flickering crystal light reflected off the gray of his eyes, seeming to deepen the color as he seemed to mull over their game. "I'd wager we're either doing gladiator style fights, two on two, or they have something set aside for us to fight."

Their group reached the archway the attendant stood in, only to be waved further into the interconnecting catacomb like tunnels beneath the coliseum.

Cross mused the issue, tail slowing its rapid pace, before he brightened considerably.

"Probably the second," he pointed out. "Isn't the second-half of the tourney always a series of duels? It'd be odd to make us do a similar two-on-two."

Lock shrugged. "Could be they're trying to throw us off. But yes, I'd say it's more likely they have something prepared."

A different attendant stood at the front as they were finally gestured into a circular room. She gestured for them to quiet down.

"The third game will be starting shortly!" they announced in a high, lilting voice, an accent Cross couldn't place. "Please stay with your partner, you'll be led out to the arena when it's your team's turn. The parameters of the game will be explained to you before you enter. First up is Golden Phoenix!"

Two women--one a halfling, by the look of her--pushed through to the front. Neither had any visible weapons. They were quickly ushered through another door by the attendant, leaving the rest of them to turn to the circular crystals hung around the room as they flickered with magic, as of right now displaying an empty stadium.

Cross darted towards one of them. Thankfully, he didn't have to worry about getting a good view past the others--his height did that for him. One team. We were right.

His tail flicking slowed, before curling around him as the duo were waved out into the center of the coliseum. A black barrier sprung up over the arch they'd traveled through. It was then he realized that there was a similar barrier over an opposing archway.

"Ladies and gentleman," Aaramis droned. The crystals flicked to him for a moment, showing the earth djinn sprawled in a chair, his irritable gaze focused on the arena. "Feel proud. Given the fact you're all sitting out there, today is probably the only time in your li--" He cut off, glancing behind him, before sighing. "I hope you're excited. We've prepared a wonderful treat for you. Better?"

The crystals flicked back to the arena as a whole. Perhaps, Cross mused, in an effort not to show the dry sarcasm taking over Aaramis' expression.

"For the first fight, the Golden Phoenixes will be facing off with an aptly difficult beast. Dubbed the king of light, this drake can bend the sun to its will."

A drake?

They were fighting a dragon subclass?

Cross' magic twisted around his legs as he practically bounced where he stood. His tail batted excitedly at Lock's arms. "Lock, Lock, do you think that--us too, right? They've gotta have us fighting drakes, too, right?"

Lock didn't look away from the crystal. He did, however, catch Cross' tail.

"I wouldn't count it out, at least," he replied, before falling silent for a moment. His quiet voice served as a stark contrast to Cross' excitement. "While drakes aren't sentient...this still seems kind of cruel."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The excitement in his tail faded as those words sunk in, leaving the tip still in Lock's hand. "Oh."

He hadn't considered it until Lock spoke, but in order to gather so many drakes...

Well, it wasn't as if drakes were common. Most were troublesome, near A-Rank or higher monsters that hung in the wilderness away from mortal settlements. Not all of them could have been causing trouble before they were captured--the typical reason for hunting such beasts. That meant they were being trapped and potentially slaughtered for entertainment and entertainment alone. And it was likely very few people in the crowd would consider that, because a dragon was a dragon and a drake a drake--they were dangerous monsters to a civilian. Cross shivered.

Something about that settled uneasily along his spine in a familiar way.

"It's fine," he concluded, voice admittedly far quieter than before.

On the screen, the black barrier dissipated, revealing a brilliant, gold-colored beast. It towered double his own height, with shimmering scales that looked as hard as any mythril plate. It prowled away from the arch.

"Like they pointed out earlier. You and I are the best at subduing things. We don't have to be cruel or drag it out. Likely, we don't even have to kill it." He tilted his head, shifting just enough to grin at Lock. "Wouldn't it be more impressive that we're able tie a drake down with ease, than to just slaughter it upright? Pretty badass in my opinion."

Lock's mouth quirked into a smile, though he still didn't look away from the ongoing scene. It drew Cross' attention back to the crystal.

The two Phoenixes had yet to move, perhaps as startled as the rest of them at the sheer size and rarity of the beast—it dwarfed the halfling in particular. But the drake had none of their shock and awe; it tossed its head and began stalking around the edges of the arena, snorting as it flicked its tail to test the barriers protecting the civilians.

"Much more impressive," Lock agreed as Cross had known he would. He flicked a quick smile in his direction. "You'll likely earn style points."

Cross' tail started flicking again as the words prompted countless showy ideas, before he dismissed a good majority of them. He didn't want to try and use the shadow sword--that had to be reserved for shocking Atlas when they faced off. Instead...

"Should I do something cool, then?" he asked, nudging Lock with his elbow. "I've been practicing. I bet even you would be shocked."

The skill would drain his magic, but he doubted anyone would be able to see it without knowing how difficult the magic was. Which was important, given that the ease with which his shadows moved always betrayed the amount of practice they required. It's why most ended up believing him a sorcerer, not a wizard.

One of the phoenixes lunged towards the dragon, only to stagger back as with a snort and a flick of its tail, a sudden shield of light sprung up from the ground. Cross leaned forward, attention immediately flipping from their conversation. "Oh! I want to try that."

It wouldn't be hard to mimic with his shadows. He already had a dozen spells slipping through his thoughts that could be modified--

Lock gently cuffed Cross' shoulder, cutting off his line of thought before it could really take off.

"No untested spells," he instructed. "Not in this fight. Save the really flashy stuff for your duel."

The halfling briefly disappeared from view—teleportation? Invisibility?—and within moments the drake's maw split in what would undoubtedly be a deafening roar had they been nearby. It stomped its feet as though trying to shake something off. The halfling reappeared next to her partner wielding dual swords, her expression prideful.

"And remember what I said. Don't overexert yourself too soon into the fight. I can help you out of a tough spot, but we're both here representing the guild."

"Okay, okay, not today," he confirmed. "I won't try anything I haven't practiced. I won't let you or any of them down. Promise."

Not to say that there wouldn't be new spells. Just...new ones that he knew the limits of. Mostly.

The partner--the one who had been staggering--flexed their shoulders, before mystifyingly pretty, celestial wings burst from her back. She sprung into the air, before waving a hand and sending feathers flying at the drake. The majority missed, but the few that landed had the creature screeching as blood bubbled along breaks in its scales.

So cool. His mind spun, searching for what sort of magic it could be. Gods, there was so much to research when they got back to the guild. He was going to drive Sera crazy with book requests.

"And I already intended on saving the best thing for the duel," Cross added proudly, remembering their conversation. "Well, a specific duel. Lis uses ice blades--so I made a shadow one just for him."

"Is Lis the person from earlier? The one you waved to on our way here?"

Lock had seen that?

On the display, the winged one swooped down to avoid a disc made of pure light that erupted from the drake's mouth. They took the opportunity to grab the halfling under the arms and return to the air, either to take them out of range of danger or to prepare for some combined attack.

"Mhm. We met him and his team--well, his actual team, not those he's with now--on a job before the tourney. He's an utter bad ass, one man army style," Cross explained. He leaned forward, almost invading the personal space of the person in front of him as the winged mage tossed the halfling, who promptly disappeared from view. "Holy shit, did you just--"

Right, he was explaining something. Cross cleared his throat, tail batting around as he refocused his thoughts. The halfling reappeared in that second, their blades buried in the drake's back.

"Anyways, Lis--Atlas--is pretty cool. We're friends. Platonically. We went drinking last night and everything." His tail dipped as he remembered the ending of the night, but then Cross shook his head. There was no time for thoughts like that--not when they had the games to face. "I told him I'm going to beat him and win the tourney."

Lock made a noise behind him. Was he trying not to laugh? "And how excited was he about that prospect?"

The winged Phoenix released another barrage of feathers at the drake. A distraction, he guessed, as the drake blocked with another light shield before howling its outrage at what could only be presumed another strike from the halfling.

"He told me to aim lower," Cross replied absently.

This time, he really did step on the foot of the person in front of him, who cursed, but moved aside. It gave him a clearer view of the crystal as the drake bucked, attempting to throw off their uninvited, once again invisible rider.

"Which, of course, defeated the point. We were discussing impossible feats. He's since seen reason and agreed it's a good goal--gods."

Cross cheered along with the crowd as the winged mage dipped lower, more feathers making their mark as the drake's attention had to be split between them and the halfling. The fight wouldn't last much longer.

"What if you don't fight him in the duels? He might bow out earlier than you're expecting."

"No way! He's too competitive," Cross insisted as the halfling made the treacherous climb up the drake's neck, using its short spines as handholds, while their winged partner kept up the aerial assault to keep the drake's attention from straying too much. "At least, he was with me. We challenged each other with who could handle the most lizardmen."

The tourney wouldn't be any different, right?

The thought was almost enough to distract him, but then the halfling reached their goal and Cross forgot everything they'd been talking about. Their dual blades sunk into the drake's scales from either side, sending an uneasy shudder down Cross' spine even as the crowd went wild.

The creature bucked weakly, then collapsed.

"Congratulations to Golden Phoenix for that alright...hells, fine. That stunning performance," Aaramis' voice announced. "We'll be taking a short five minute break for the...really? That long--fuck it."

There was a shudder, and the arena split, sending the halfling scrambling backwards. The drake's body disappeared into the resulting crevice, before it snapped shut with a chilling crunch.

"A one minute break while the next competitors are summoned."

Cross shuddered, tail dipping as he recalled all the times he'd bugged Aaramis on the job. Suddenly, he understood why Sia had dragged him back into the inn by his collar.

"Starry Rose, you're up! Please come to the front."

Lock nudged Cross, as if aware of the energy already coming alive beneath his skin. "Let's go show off for Atlas, then, shall we?"