Fell Champions

Kir stared down at Reyna, disbelief in her eyes. The body was wrong, the voice was wrong, everything was wrong. But the words. The cadence. The tone. It was all correct.

“No. Juala’s dead. I killed her.”

Reyna, from her position on the ground, snorted. “Like you could, even with your stupid fuckin’ Pact. We both know I’d beat you in a fight easily if I could hit your fat ass. The Pact just makes it interesting.”

“You… you could not beat me in a fight!”

Reyna smirked and stood up. “Sure thing, princess. Keep believing that. At least you’re talking now, and not trying to throw yourself off a tower in what has to be the stupidest display of, well, stupidity I’ve ever seen.”

“I… I’m trying to save Rua! And… you’re not… you!” Kir realized how dumb the words sounded even as she said them. There had always been something about Juala that infuriated Kir. The way Juala always knew exactly what nerves to hit and when for maximum damage. 

“Tossing yourself to your death to save Rua. That’s beautiful. Great. So, she’s free from your Pact, and still in enemy hands. And then she finds out you killed yourself to break the hold you have over her. How do you think she’d react to that? I’m sure she’d be completely reasonable and not at all overly emotional and then blame herself for it. After all, the pipsqueak is known for her logical approach to all her life problems.”

Kir felt the anger rising in her, and she took two quick steps towards Reyna, grabbing her by the front of her shirt. “Don’t you dare mock Rua’s pain.”

“Gotcha,” Reyna said, and then before Kir could react, she found herself suddenly in a headlock, with Reyna’s knuckles furiously digging into her scalp. “Can’t hurt you, but this doesn’t actually hurt, now does it?”

“Ow! Let me go!” Kir struggled and kicked one of Reyna’s feet out from under her, bringing them both crashing to the ground. Somehow, Reyna ended up on top of her.

“Say my name!”

“Ugh, you’re such a … a cunt!”

“Yeah. And?”

“Only you would be proud of being such an odious person! Fine! I believe you! You’re Juala! How are you alive? And more importantly, why do you look like Reyna?”

“Because the dumb Crib Fleshcrafter couldn’t let go, and yanked my soul crystal out and put it in Reyna’s body. She was alive but dead at the same time. It’s a boring story. I’ll let the little ginger explain it next time she’s around. Suffice to say, that limpdick assassin of yours was shit and couldn’t finish the job.”

Kir felt a wave of shame at that. Not at Il-Su being terrible at his job, but at the fact that he’d been sent to kill Juala at all. 

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean–”

Juala flicked her nose. “Fuck off with that. No pity parties allowed. Besides, not like you were the one to give the order. Your dad did that. Or Sureya. Or both of them. It’s hard to keep track of where that fucking limpdick is getting his orders from at any time.”

Kir struggled against Juala. “Can you let me up now?” 

“That depends. You gonna be a dumb bitch and try to throw yourself off the tower again?”

Kir let out a breath. It was probably Rua’s best shot at freedom. But the yawning hole inside of her had lessened, just a little. Not much, but enough.

“No. I won’t nobly sacrifice myself for our sister.”

“Good. Because I love you, you piece of shit. And you’re not allowed to kill yourself until I kill you first.” Juala got off Kir, and helped her to her feet.

“I love you, too, you rude little pest. Even if I dream about the day I choke the life out of you.”

“Flatterer. You know, some whores at the docks charge for that service.”

“And I’m sure you’ve happily emptied your purse to experience it.” 

Juala rolled her eyes. “You know, people seem to think they can shame me for paying for sex, but really I’m just contributing to the economy.”

Kir had to bite back a comment about Juala needing to pay for it because no one would willingly touch her. About how she was so unloveable people were revolted at the very idea. But it felt a little too mean, a little too real. The kind of thoughtless remark she’d made one too many times in the past. 

Instead, she clasped Juala’s shoulder and said, “I missed you, sister. I’m glad you’re alive.”

Juala faintly blushed and looked away. “Yeah, well, I’m glad you’re not stupid enough that you actually threw yourself off a tower or anything.”

There was some stamping up some stairs, and a moment later, Sami and Otter both emerged onto the rooftop with them. Sami had one of her swords drawn, and Otter had summoned one of her odd glowing threads and had it stretched taut between her hands.

“What’s going on?” Sami asked. “You ran off after… where’s Rua?”

Otter seemed to get a far away look in her eyes, and then sucked in a breath. “She’s not on this island. She’s west again. You sent her to Pruana Isle again, didn’t you?”

“Yes. I did.” Kir steeled herself. “I accept full responsibility for my actions. If not for me putting Rua under the power of my Pact in the first place, this never would have happened.”

“And what happened?” Sami asked, her sword very much pointed threateningly at Kir.

“I was ordered… compelled by my own Pact… to send Rua back to Pruana Isle to act as a hostage. And told not to return myself.”

“Why not? To sabotage our efforts to rescue her? To ingratiate yourself into our company and spy on us?”

“The tale-telling idiot was trying to kill herself,” Reyna said. “Pretty sure that’s not the case.”

“It’s… true. I feel … I betrayed her trust again. I never… I don’t know how to make this right. Every decision I make just makes things worse. Everyone sees me as this perfect being, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.”

“Pretty sure I never saw you as perfect,” Juala muttered. “Except maybe perfectly fuckable. But then you open your mouth, and here I am without a cock to shove into it.”

“Will you shut up for just five minutes?” Kir snapped. “Why are you always like this?”

“Always like what?” Otter asked.

“Reyna’s Juala,” Sami said, as if it were the most natural statement in the world to say.

There was a moment of silence, followed by everyone at once making surprised noises.

“How the fuck did you figure it out of all people?” Juala asked. “You didn’t even know me as Juala.”

Sami waved her hand. “Your story never added up. Too many inconsistencies. And then you always got weird whenever Juala was brought up. Resentful of people seeing her positively, despite you supposedly being the closest thing she had to a friend. Most would glamourize her in your position. You insisted on denigrating her. You felt guilty for the deception, combined with the fact that I psychologically profiled Juala as someone with a lot of self-esteem issues. It was one of a few theories I was bandying about. The confirmation was seeing you interact with Kir interact just now. You behave like siblings.”

“We do not,” Kir and Juala both said at once, and then glared at one another.

“Incestuous siblings,” Sami added. “Your adopted family dynamics are odd, and very unhealthy. Or perhaps extremely healthy provided the two of you ever got around to having sex.”

Kir felt her cheeks flush hotly, and Juala’s jaw dropped. Somehow, seeing Juala speechless made the embarrassment worth it. 

“I’m still confused on how Juala’s alive,” Otter said.

Juala sighed, and then recapped the whole series of events for the entire group. By the time she was done, she looked frustrated and impatient, which was typical Juala. 

“Great. My bodyguard’s been lying to me since the moment I hired her,” Otter said.

“Yeah, but only about my name. And my identity. And my motive for wanting to work for you. And I’m gonna shut up now.”

“First time for everything,” Kir muttered.

“Okay, everyone shut up for a second. I’m thinking.” Otter paced amongst them, twirling her golden thread between her fingers. “Okay. So, Sureya will likely be attacking Pruana Isle soon. Rua is now hostage on Pruana Isle. We know Mikovia is Wayfaring people onto their island against whatever agreement they have with the Silayans. They’re building an army. The smart move says to team up with Sureya, but honestly, fuck that noise.”

Kir opened her mouth to say something, but Otter glared at her, genuine anger in her eyes. Kir looked away. Otter was right to dislike her. But she had an obligation to her people.

But Rua was her people, too.

“There’s a part of the coast that isn’t well guarded,” Kir said. “If we had a small, swift vessel, we could land and infiltrate. I know the patrol routes.”

“The problem is, we can’t trust you,” Sami observed.

“Actually, we can,” Otter said. “Your Pact. If you beat someone, you gain control of them. But if someone beats you, the reverse is true as well, isn’t it? They gain control of you.”

Kir pressed her lips together in a line. “Yes. But it has to be a genuine fight. Life or death. I can’t just have a mock fight and surrender. And it can’t be a friendly contest or bet. We both have to genuinely be trying to fight one another. My Pact senses the intent on both ends. If either side is fighting to lose, then it doesn’t matter. Both sides have to want to win. I can’t just let someone win.”

They were going to set that black-scaled man, that Everett, to fight her. Yurgein had told her so, after dabbling in the minds of Otter’s cohorts. He hadn’t once leered at her their entire time harvesting fruit together. Hadn’t made a single pass, hadn’t let his gaze linger a moment too long. She could always tell a man who wasn’t attracted to women, because any other man could be in a crowd of naked women and Kir, fully dressed in plate mail, would always be the first thing they put their gaze on. It was just inevitable. Even completely covered, with her high Allure, they were drawn to her.

Everett didn’t have that. He wasn’t interested. But she wasn’t sure he could beat her. His Pact was a support one, one he wasn’t experienced with or particularly talented with. She’d seen him use it against Holt and that one woman, MoonCutter. Both times he’d been forced to be still and focus. He couldn’t fight and craft illusions at the same time. 

She knew if they fought, it’d be their respective skills with a blade against one another. And she probably had more soul power than him. 

“That’s fine,” Otter said. “I have a plan for that. We’re going to have someone beat you up. And then it’ll just be two people who can give you commands, right? The person who beats you up, and your father? What happens if those orders conflict with one another?”

“I... I don’t know. It’s never happened before. But I have to warn you, I don’t think your Everett can beat me, if that’s your plan.”

“Oh, that? No, that was my fake plan. See, I got warned a while back that there are Pacts that people might be able to read minds and stuff. So, I’ve been keeping my plots and such pretty close to my chest. Told Rua to seduce you. Not to escape, but honestly, just to get the sexual tension out of the air. But anyone trying to read her mind would only see that plan. Then I let Everett come up with the plan for him to fight you. And if anyone read his mind, that was all they’d see. No, I’ve had a different plot for dealing with you for some time now.”

“Really?” If that were true, then Otter was a lot more clever than Kir had given her credit for. “Then what is this plan?”

“Oh. Easy. I’ve wanted to kick your ass myself ever since you kidnapped Rua. So, I, Otter Kaos, hereby challenge you to a duel, Kirhaela Marevok.”

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