The never-sleeping clover arena was as animated as always in all of its sectors, except for where warriors meet to brawl to their hearts' content. Today, they all watched and learned, around a spectacle like none other: the mock fight between the Union trainees and their challengers that has been going on for multiple hours, with little break between rounds.
Arim and Zinc showed off why their symbiotic pairing has been going strong for many years by mopping the floor with their opponents: with Ogda as the water and Giol as the mop. The lancer fared much better, though, as he knew how to switch from offense to defense. He demonstrated a rich athletic capability and a keen eye alerted him when to avoid attacks; he even managed some strange ranged counterattacks of his own whenever he caught Zinc or Arim off-guard.
That didn’t mean that he did much damage though. Zinc would slither and slide around the boy, creating pieces of protective armor wherever an attack might strike. Arim’s job then would be to notice weak points, dodge at the right moment, and, using his intuition and experience, hit and strike up close.
The wild card in this rodeo was Ogda, who over the past month discovered what else he was technically able to do. The liquid inside him started to vibrate and heat at random, reaching boiling points at times; an ability over which he had little to no control; Which he found out when droplets flew accidentally after a swipe and hit Goidel’s arm.
Giol -” Hey, pal, watch it with that!”, cried out the lancer in frustration while the sizzling liquid almost ate through his green shell. “ Time out! Arim, Zinc take a water…yeah, whatever, take a break. Ogda, let’s have a talk.”
The firbolg didn’t reply, but silently followed the hurt party, dragging his feet along; literally, as the limbs also started to change around arbitrarily, either solidifying too much or becoming mush if their owner didn’t concentrate hard enough on them. Giol’s sudden cry of pain shocked him more than he expected.
-” Ok, let’s try it again. Last time it worked, it shouldn’t be a problem ”, whispered Giol when the two got out of sight.
-” But I…” Ogda murmured back. He turned his head to the ground and waited for nothing. His sparring partner crossed his arms to the chest, waiting patiently. At least that’s how Ogda interpreted the move, but it still felt like extra pressure to him. “...Fine”, he caved in and closed his eyes. His body slowly lost form, dropping in height and extending its volume like a plastic bag that was filling with water; it also slowed down the liquid’s vibrations and cooled him down significantly.
Giol -” Better?”
Ogda -”...Yes”, he replied, a bit ashamed.
Giol -” So now, what ticked you off this time?”
Ogda appeared confused by the question, with an expression like it was the first time he heard of the concept.
Giol -” Well, yeah. You got like that when your whip-hands missed the target dummies or when you couldn’t dodge my mystery attacks.”
Ogda -groans, "…could you expl…”
Giol -” Not happening. So….is it that Arim and Zinc keep kicking our asses?”
He didn’t hit the nail straight on, but from Ogda’s slowness to answer, Giol’s strike was close. A second attempt then. He asked if it was just them being there that annoyed him; once again, he got closer to the cause.
-” Is it Arim?”, Giol finally asked with concern.
-”...Yes…” Before his spar could ask for more, though, Ogda tried to find an excuse to satisfy his frustrations. “I just…don’t know. I see him, and I think that…I just want to punch him…”
Ogda continued to avoid looking Giol straight in the face, but he couldn’t comprehend why he behaved like that. It was hard for him to accept it, but deep inside he didn’t want the lancer to dislike him.
Giol -” Ahhh…well, crap, you’re out of luck then.”
-”...What?”, asked a bewildered Ogda, unintentionally raising his head.
Giol -” Listen…do you want to hate him? Think about this well and tell me truthfully. Do you think Arim deserves whatever you feel now about him?”
The water firbolg went mute again, but this time with a good, contemplatory reason. “...It matters?”, Ogda asked, as if to get more help understanding.
Giol -” Yes, you whirlpool. If it’s jealousy of his skills, then I wouldn’t mind helping you kick his ass in the arena. But if this is related to other things you avoid talking about, then I will kick you in the butt until you spill it out”, Goidel said with a wide, bright smile.
For a moment, Ogda’s mind retreated to the past; he could see two sets of feet, human feet, towering over him. He was shaking from fear of the strange creatures in front of him until a nudge distracted him from his stupor; he turned to his right to see another small firbolg with a rocky, light-brown body, smiling at him. For the moment, he felt less frightened and his mind returned.
-”...I’ll think about it”, Ogda assured him with half a mouth. “...But it’s not just because…”, he tried to say before stopping.
Before the two could say more, Arim called out to them:
-” I need you two to come with me.”
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