Bone Diggers - Chapter Seven

Loading... Chapter Seven

If Owen wanted to avoid getting on the news again, skipping the arena would be best. It was overhyped, and far too removed from his normal world. But the place did have one person he fully respected; Sal. He hadn't figured out who in the world played the barge of a man, but hadn't tried to out him, since so few arena players didn't freely give their name.

"Ah, Daniel, it's been too long!" Sal said, his voice booming cheerfully. "What brings you by?" He stood with his arms crossed, making his square shoulders seem even more so.

"I wanted to see how much fight this one has in her." Daniel gestured over his shoulder to Amilia, who had been silently trailing behind like a shadow. She didn't venture forward at her name, too absorbed by where she was.

If historical minimalism was possible, a screencap of the arena is what would appear in textbooks as the example. Unlike Daniel's usual hunting grounds, details were smoothed over to handle the influx of people. It was hardly missed since it wasn't what most of these players looked for, but Amilia seemed to. While her eyes carefully looked around, Daniel watched her with enough curiosity as if seeing an eclipse.

Sal cleared his throat before speaking. "Sure thing," he chuckled, before speaking directly to Amilia. "It would be a pleasure to set that up for you." He bowed his head, remaining taller than her even then, before he left to arrange the matches.

"He's going to put you up against people who'll get progressively harder as you learn," Daniel explained, as he started after Sal. "Remember your greatest asset against them is being light on your feet."

Amilia swallowed hard, then nodded. "I'm ready."

The short hallway opened up to a new area with a sparring ring at its heart. The first adversary stood waiting, his idle stance looping quickly since his whole existence was that of a punching bag that could throw one back.

Sal was standing in the corner, conversing casually with someone, but found himself curious of Daniel's experiment. The man in the ring cracked his knuckles, a smirk grew on his face as Amilia stepped in.

Daniel leaned into the railing. "He's not talkative, but he'll go straight for your jaw if given the chance."

Amilia shied to look back at Daniel. Her face puckered up, but when she couldn't find any real reply for the warning, she turned back, trying to wash away any emotions that would get in the way. Her hands balled into fists as she raised them. "Ready," she whispered to herself this time.

If there was meant to be a bell, she didn't wait for one. She jolted forward to strike first. The jab was quick, but he dodged sideways and took the opportunity to throw a punch at her torso. The rush of air he forced out caused Amilia to stumble away to regain her breath.

The man stood back, grinning like he had a remark, but didn't venture saying it. Amilia's hand twitched towards her ribs, but she willed herself not to baby them. Her ego wouldn't stand going down after the first hit.

She straightened up soon enough, and turned to fight. This time waiting for a punch to be thrown at her. After a shuffle of feet and a tease of a jab, she learned to read his movements better. A punch came at her face, but she knew exactly what she had to do to avoid getting hit. Amilia spun, and kicked him square in the chest. He stumbled a step, but regained his posture automatically.

Adrenaline seeped into her veins. Her thoughts sped up and her focus solidified. Another punch came, but she stepped out of his range. Amilia moved close again to land a kick to his stomach. He reflexively grabbed his sides, and once she thought his guard was down, Amilia swung for his head.

The man caught it, and pulled her off balance enough that she spilled onto the ground. He kicked down at her, but she blocked it with her forearms. Effective, but the grimace on her face suggested it still hurt a lot.

Not having much choice, she waited for the perfect moment. He recoiled, and she kicked with her whole body at his knee. It collapsed, and he awkwardly crumbled. She bounced up to her feet, expecting him to do the same.

Instead, he groaned and held a hand up to quit. Amilia stared down, with her fists ready as if she didn't believe.

"That's my girl!" Daniel called, giving her a start. Amilia looked over, the surprise dissolving into pure excitement. "Keep it up."

Amilia nodded and turned back. She blinked at the empty spot before catching the movement of another man stepping into the ring. His movements were organic enough to be real. She wiped at the dirt on her face, then returned to a fighting stance.

This man didn't look much different than the first, so it took a second for Amilia to realize it had been the person that Sal had been talking to before. There were enough muscles lining his arms to suggest that all he did was punch things all day.

He moved towards her, closing in for his first attack. Amilia kept Daniel's advice in mind. Being light on her feet was key. More time than she would have liked was spent dodging, but she jumped at the first chance to knee him in the nose when he stumbled too close.

It wasn't a knockout, but it sure looked like one for a second. Annoyed, the man came back with force. He returned a kick that left her breathless. Without time to recover, the man reached for her hair. He pulled her towards him and Amilia bit back a cry.

His free hand moved to grab her by the neck. The grin made him look more sinister than the others. Amilia stared at him, helpless for a moment, before an idea came. She tucked her chin down and managed to bite.

Reflexively, he dropped her before landing a strong fist against her jaw. Amilia stared down as the small stones that made up the ground blurred. The brute looked Daniel squarely in the eyes. "Your bitch bites!"

"Quit your yelping, runt." The muscles in Daniel's jaw twitched after he spoke.

Amilia spit blood out of her mouth as the man traveled over to Daniel. "I'm sorry to tell you, kid, but your girl just isn't strong enough." The grin on his face dared Daniel to do something about it himself. The vulgarity stepped up a notch as Daniel cussed at him, the fact that the two weren't friends became clear to anyone around.

"She is quite a looker though." The brute ignored Amilia as she pushed herself up from the dirt. "I'd recommend you keep her in your chambers nex—"

Amilia was on his back before he could finish. He reached back trying to rip her off, but she only tightened her grip. He had no leverage. The second he stopped trying to shake her off, she wailed at his head until he dropped to his knees.

She jumped off before he could try to crush her. "This bitch will also kill," Amilia said, and spat blood at him. He wobbled, and rolled over to his back like a dying bug.

Daniel had stepped into the ring, but froze when it became clear he didn't need to. Sal was staring wide eyed. While it wasn't unusual for players to join in, normally they showed better manners to fellow fighters. Amilia continued to glare, as if she missed all the details around her besides the man she just took down.

The first person in the ring to move again was Daniel. He walked past Amilia to the man who was slowly blinking up at the ceiling waiting for his stamina to return. Other bystanders had gathered, and Daniel glanced them over before crouching down. "See what lack of respect got you," he whispered. "You look pretty foolish now."

Sal gestured to a few of his men to clear the ring of the trash. Two men came over, helping the guy up and escorting him outside. "Impressive," Sal said seconds later, but it was unclear if he was talking to Daniel or Amilia.

"Clear out," Sal called. Some of the remaining crowd grumbled, citing that arena matches were open to the public.

"This is my gym," Sal roared. "Leave or I'll ban you."

Daniel was too focused on Amilia to care what whiny PvPers wanted. "Are you okay?" Daniel asked. She nodded. Unconvinced, Daniel's eyes narrowed as he looked over her again. Not able to find anything wrong, he tucked a tuft of hair behind her ear. "Good." Daniel smiled softly before his hand dropped to his side. "I'm sorry about all of that. Sometimes...sometimes people are horrible."

"You did pretty well today, all the same. What have you been feeding her, Daniel?" Sal asked.

"She is like a flower," Daniel said, "I simply turn her in the direction of the sun and she grows on her own."

"The name was Amilia, correct, señorita?"

She nodded. "Si, Le'Russo," she said, holding out her hand for a more formal greeting.

Sal lifted her hand and gave it a small kiss. "It was a pleasure meeting a...a friend of Daniel's."

"Could I borrow the room?" Daniel asked.

"Certainly. Just don't kill each other, all right?" Sal winked before leaving.

"You have one last person to fight today." Daniel started to peel off his armor and weapons.

Amilia stood there, dumbfounded for a moment, not following until he stood there in front of her in a loose white shirt. "What—you? No!" That snapped her back into the real world. "Daniel, I don't think I can hit you."

"That's sweet of you." Daniel couldn't help but feel like he was flirting with her. Even if the idea seemed crude in this setting with insults being thrown around. "Maybe I should have done this in the first place. If we are going to be fighting together, I need to know how you fight. That...comfort with each other is why you called Lance and I ghosts."

Amilia's arms were crossed over her chest, still not wanting to give this round a go.

"Come on, that is a horrible stance." Daniel added, "Fight me or I can become all sorts of bratty. I'd prefer to stay my charming self."

She smiled a little, and took a real stance before Daniel reached out and reposed her arms. "You sure this isn't payback for the other night?" she ventured. He looked amused, but kept a loose stance completely unlike hers, and the other men she fought today.

Amilia threw out a jab, and he dodged. Her kick landed against his forearm, and might have hurt if she hadn't been trying to get this over with. Daniel had the dexterity to grab her leg and knocked her off balance as he pushed her back. "Am I not worth the effort you gave to the others?" Daniel asked.

He was about to continue taunting her when the fire in her belly seemed to reignite. Amilia kicked again, which seemed to be her attack of choice. It landed, sending a spike a pain along his side.

"Make sure to use what is around to your advantage," he said. Daniel delivered a powerful kick of his own to her chest, forcing Amilia to stumble back into the railing that encased the ring. She barely caught herself.

He backed up, giving her space and time to come back to him. She tried another round kick, but he was always a second ahead of her. "In the practice ring, you might get hits in, but out there you need to lead your attacks a bit more. I'm a moving target, you need to plan accordingly."

Daniel jumped back from a punch, and ended up directly in the path of another. This time his recoil was pure instinct as the hit tested his jaw. He winced as it complained. "Like that," he mused. "Maybe I'm too good of a teacher."

Amilia tried to spin away like a dancer, but Daniel caught her arm, pulling her back against him, twirling her with a force as sharp as a whip. He shuffled his feet between hers as he kept her close, weakening Amilia's stance. She tried to stomp on a foot so he wouldn't be able to trip her up, but his boot protected him.

He made sure she didn't fall after all, or at least not much as his arm supported her back. Amilia tensed up as she looked over her shoulder, thrown off as he steadied her instead of finishing with an attack. "Follow what I teach you, and I will always have your back," he added words that seemed too soft for the ring.

"Is that a promise?" she asked, finding a smile again.

Daniel licked his lips as if thinking about it. "It is."