“Oh, that’s right,” he nodded, smiling even though it wasn’t even slightly out of amusement or happiness. He reached up to rub his hand on his neck. “Of course he knows,” he echoed softer, looking away to the arena once again. His mind went to Mordecai again. They knew practically everything about each other, and even their backgrounds and the shit they’d went through. Did Mordecai know he was alive despite the mangled body in his quarters?
Cadmus went quiet too, looking out on the arena as one of the men fell and, to the delight of the cheering crowd, refused to get up again. The other man helped him up and together they hobbled out of the arena, clearing the bloodied sand for the next two fighters. It was Fiori who stepped out first, tall and proud with a pair of dual broadswords in his hands.
Cadmus was yelling almost before he realized he was supposed to, waving furiously from his seat and beaming as bright as the midmorning sun when Fiori met his eyes from the center of the arena.
Leviticus watched in amazement. All his life, with the exception of the days he’d been here, he’d assumed that during these fights the loser fell to his death. He looked over at Cadmus and smiled, warmly amused at his passionate encouragement. His gaze fell back to Fiori. This would be interesting, watching him fight when the only time he had witnessed him fighting was when they were sparring.
Fiori gave Cadmus the most lovesick smile, sweet at honey, and then noticed Levi was sitting beside him and give him a respectful nod. His opponent came out just as he turned back to the doors, decked in emerald green cloth and holding a lance.
The fight began seconds later. The man in green was a fierce fighter, obviously well trained, but he was no match for Fiori. Every blow he made was parried and then quickly returned in movements so fast they were almost impossible to track. Fi moved with something nearing grace as he beat back blows, forcing his opponent up against the wall with all the ease of a panther going in for the kill.
Levi nodded respectively, and when the fight started he watched, completely enthralled. He only looked at Cadmus once to see his expression, and then he looked back at the arena. He shifted forward in his seat, watching intently with squinted eyes. “Wow,” he breathed, thoroughly impressed with Fiori’s skills. And how the other man, who looked just as impressive was no match for him. He’d never watched his brother truly fight before, but if he gave Fiori a real fight on the battle field… he’d underestimated Johan.
Cadmus cheered until the man in green was on the floor and Fiori was raising his swords in victory, offering the man a helping hand and laughing softly at some murmured statement, helping him back out of the arena and then returning to the middle. "Yeah," Cadmus agreed, finally tearing his eyes away. "Fi's been a fighter since he could hold a sword, his daddy made sure of that."
“Very impressive,” he laughed, twirling his ring around his finger again. “Amazing, in fact,” he breathed, shaking his head. Johan would happier here than home, if he had been born or taken here, at least. “What’s most amazing is… they’re comrades at the end of it.”
Cadmus nodded, grinning even brighter when Levi took the time to compliment Fiori. "Yeah, he's one of the best. He's always been so dedicated to his art, so when he gets to show it off it's… really something." His smiled was more for Fi than for Levi, which he realized with a sheepish blush. "But, yeah, you're right. That's one of the things I love about Usige; it may be warlike, but they see so much honor in fighting. Fi always says there's nothing shameful about a defeat you survive and… I dunno, that's really admirable to me."
“Huh,” he looked back at the arena towards Fiori. “That phrase could work for a lot of things, not just..physical fighting,” he noted. Usige was still so strange to him, and he still felt that it was the enemy of his kingdom. Such deep set opinions couldn’t be changed in a few days, but perspective could. He had to admit not every person in Usige was a bad person, specifically Cadmus and Fiori.
Cadmus laughed, nodding along to his comment. "Oh yeah, he spouts it at me all the time. I swear to the gods that boy got fed a book of platitudes when he was small because he spouts them all the time." He straightened up, imitating Fiori's squared shoulders. "Every scar tells a story, Cadmus," He deepened his voice, trying to mimic Fiori's bassy tone. "A smart man fights for himself, a wise man fights for peace, Cadmus."
“Hah..!” Levi sputtered, “That’s so much like him. He told me the scar one recently. Either this morning or the other night.” He grinned, “So that’s just what he does? I just thought I was special,” he joked with a snicker.
Cadmus snickered, letting himself droop back into his more relaxed posture. "I mean, he wouldn't have given you the advice if he didn't care at least a little bit, but yeah. He spouts that stuff a lot, and… to be fair, a good 75% of it is pretty solid."
“It is pretty good advice. When I get home I’ll definitely remember it. Even use it,” he seat back into his seat, turning his eyes to the arena again, wondering if Fiori was going to fight in the next one. He had to admit, it was entertaining.
Cadmus nodded. "He's weirdly wise for a guy whose only hobbies are fighting and helping me bake." He settled back in his seat, watching as a new challenger approached. He snorted when he recognized who it was, giving a loud whoop of support as the two began to circle one another. "This dumbass challenges him every year," he told Levi, eyes never leaving the ring. "He's pretty good, they call him leòmhann."
“Is he better than the last one?” He laughed and craned his neck to get a better look. He sat forward again, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees. “If he is, this should be even more entertaining.”
"Much. That last one was… Callian? His daddy had some beef with Fiori's uncle but Fi fills in for his uncle in duels so they duked it out instead." The two began to circle one another, matching their movements step for step as they waited for the other to budge. "Leòmhann, on the other hand, has personal beef with Fi. He cares a lot more about winning the fight."
As soon as the words were out of Cadmus' mouth, Leòmhann dashed forward, swinging his sword down in a quick strike. Fi blocked it but the force sent him sliding backward, off balance and at a disadvantage. For a few seconds, it was a flurry of blows, rapid attacks from Leòmhann that Fi just barely managed to block until he saw his opening and took it, ducking one of his swings and dropping his swords to tackle his opponent to the ground.
Cadmus cheered his approval.
“Damn, I can see the tension,” he lifted his head. This man definitely seemed to have a shot against Fiori, at least for the few seconds where Fi was disadvantaged. Johan would absolutely love something like this, he thought. “What kind of personal issue does he have with Fiori?”
(Me, someone who avoids writing combat scenes because they're something I'm ass at: sweats nervously)
Cadmus laughed in delight as Leòmhann tried to swing up with his sword only for Fiori to pin his wrists, turning to Levi once it looked like Fi had the upper hand. "He thinks Fiori stole his land to help build housing for the peasants who live in his province. And he also happens to resent the fact that Fi was given generalship over him."
Leòmhann managed to force Fiori off of him but before he could get a solid pin Fiori was tackling him again, slamming him up against the wall with a sickening crunch that could be heard even from the seats. The fight was over rather quickly after that.
(Lmao! Same, but this is great!)
“Ohh, I suppose that makes sense for him to be angry. Not that he’s in the right but…” Levi trailed off, too interested in the fight to bother thinking about an intelligible response. He winced at the horrid sounding crunch, his smile inching from his face as he wondered what happened. He squinted at the scene again, silently glad that Fiori won, but was something wrong? That’s and he wasn’t as much one to scream and holler.
(lol, glad I'm doing a good job)
Fiori offered Leòmhann a hand but was quickly batted away as the man forced himself to his feet, hobbling out of the arena with a face as white as fresh paper. Cadmus watched him go with a grin, whooping at Fi's win and then continuing to speak unbothered. "He's a fucking dick at parties too, you should see the way he torments the serving girls. I hope he broke a rib."
Levi sat back in his seat, letting out a breath as he saw the man walking by himself, “Sounds like he did. He must have at least broken something.” He laughed a little bit, “He deserves it too, then.” While the arena was between fights, he looked down at his ring. “How many fights are there in a day?”
Cadmus shrugged. "As many as they can fit in between seven in the morning and seven at night. The rest will spill over into tomorrow and then as the clock strikes seven Fiori will face his uncle." A new competitor walked out into the ring, a woman with her blazing red hair tied back in a complicated triad of knots on the back of her head. "Fi'll fight in 5 of them, I checked before y'all got to me."
“So this is his third…” he echoed in a whisper, mostly for himself. Then he asked louder, “Seven at night or seven in the morning?” He eyed the new competitor curiously. He hadn’t seen red hair much in his lifetime, except for any visitors that came to talk business in the castle.
"Seven at night. It's a lucky number so lots of shit tend happens in sevens if people can help it." The new competitor didn't even bother to circle she surged forward so quickly Fi barely had a chance to parry her attack. It was clear he wasn't as strong as he was but that didn't matter, more than making up for it with her speed and ferocity.
For the first time that day, Fiori started to lose ground. It was slow at first, a few strategic steps back to keep out of the way of her blade, but then he was backed up against the wall with her sword coming at him to fast to parry. She landed a cut on his chest, then another, and then she was swinging forward with all her might, intent on ending the fight with a blow too serious for Fi to fight through.
Fi parried so hard her arms shook, something animal in his eyes as he shoved her back. She was on the defensive now, all her speed no match for Fi's desperate determination to win.
“That makes sense,” he nodded, but kept his focus on the arena. The way this woman fought reminded him somewhat of his own country’s technique, which relied more on speed, agility, and using the opponent’s strength against them. In this fight, he almost hoped that she would win. Although he would never admit it out loud, especially next to Cadmus.
Cadmus was on the edge of his seat, cheering loudly for Fiori as the woman forced him into the defensive and then had to shift quickly to the defensive herself as he swung at her. She was starting to dodge instead of parrying, not strong enough to hold out against Fi's brute strength, but even that wasn't enough. As the fight dragged on she started to get tired, stumbling and slowing, but Fiori, who had just gone through two years of military conditioning, stood strong. Eventually he disarmed her, swinging up against one of her strikes so hard the sword flew from her hands, and she dropped to one knee, panting out a ragged "I yield."
Levi’s eyes widened as the fight dragged on. But when it came to a close, he sat back, breathing as if he had been the one fighting, “Damn. I think she was his best competitor yet,” he ran a hand through his hair. His scalp was still a bit sore, but it at least felt better now. “Do you know her name or who she is?”
Cadmus nodded in agreement, watching with fond eyes as Fiori helped the woman to her feet. The two were talking quietly, and then the woman tilted her head back and laughed so loud even Fi seemed surprised. "That's Alessia LaRue, she's a pit fighter champion. She and Fiori are friends, he always makes me say hi to her at parties before I drag him off."
“I wouldn’t have guessed they were friends with those nice size cuts she gave him,” he chuckled to himself. He cocked his head slightly. He wondered what Fiori said to her that made her laugh so much. That was the second competitor he’d made laugh. “But now I see it.”
Cadmus laughed. "That's how you can tell they're friends, Levi. I mean, besides how chummy they are outside the fight. They're not scared of hurting each other because they know there won't be any hard feelings about it later." He gave Fiori, who was now meandering back to the center of the arena to meet his fourth opponent, a careful once over. "Besides, they're not even that deep."