The Divergence

Gwendolyn crossed both arms in front of herself just as Evelyn's boot crashed into them. 

The impact still launched her backward, sending leaves and loose dirt scattering beneath her boots when she landed several meters away and began sliding across the forest floor.

She laughed the entire way.

Gwendolyn dug her heels into the earth until she finally stabilized herself, lowering her arms with a broad smile. "Okay, that one was good! I wasn't expecting you to put that much into it."

Evelyn smiled softly before rushing forward again. "You told me to go wild."

"I did say that." Gwendolyn pushed forward to meet her, white hair streaming behind her as she accelerated. "I'm beginning to question my own advice."

Their next clash happened in an instant.

Gwendolyn's pearl-colored nails extended a few centimeters as she swiped toward Evelyn's face, but Evelyn caught her wrist and redirected the strike outward. 

Her fingers slipped between Gwendolyn's immediately afterward, locking their hands together before she sharply yanked her forward.

Gwendolyn blinked at their joined hands before giggling. "I didn't realize you were so romantic."

Evelyn's free hand shot toward her throat.

Gwendolyn knocked it aside with her forearm and drove one knee sharply into Evelyn's stomach. 

The impact folded Evelyn slightly and lifted her feet from the ground, but rather than releasing Gwendolyn's hand and being thrown away, Evelyn's other hand snapped upward.

Her fingers caught the side of Gwendolyn's head.

Gwendolyn's empty red eyes widened. "Oh—"

Evelyn wrenched.

Crack.

The sharp sound carried through the surrounding trees as Gwendolyn's head twisted at an unnatural angle. 

Evelyn was already being thrown backward by the knee to her stomach, but she'd maintained her grip just long enough to do the damage.

Gwendolyn staggered in place.

Her empty red eyes remained open for a fraction of a second before her body went completely slack and collapsed into the leaves.

Evelyn, meanwhile, continued flying backward. She slammed into a nearby tree, bounced from the trunk, and landed on her side several meters away.

She groaned softly before lifting her head.

Gwendolyn hadn't moved.

Evelyn blinked and climbed to her feet, brushing dirt from her dress as she hurried over. "Gwen?"

There was no response.

She dropped to one knee beside Gwendolyn and gently touched her shoulder. 

Her neck was already beginning to repair itself, the damage that would have killed a human rapidly correcting, but that didn't prevent the forced unconsciousness that came with having her neck broken.

Gwendolyn remained completely motionless.

A tiny smile appeared on Evelyn's face. "I won."

She glanced around as if expecting someone to dispute the declaration, but everyone else was far too occupied with their own fights to notice.

Evelyn carefully slid one arm beneath Gwendolyn's knees and the other behind her back before lifting her. 

Gwendolyn's head rested limply against Evelyn's shoulder, her long white hair hanging over Evelyn's arm as she carried her away from the immediate fighting.

"You were the one who told me to go wild." Evelyn glanced down at the unconscious vampire with a faint smile. "So you can't complain when you wake up."

Farther through the forest, Rosaline spun away from another exchange with Celestine and leapt upward.

Her hand caught a thick branch nearly fifteen feet above the forest floor. 

She swung underneath it once before pulling herself onto the top, crouching there as her long red hair spilled around her shoulders.

Rosaline looked down at Celestine and grinned. "Come get me."

Celestine stopped below her and looked upward, teal hair shifting gently around her face as she studied both Rosaline and the branch supporting her.

Rosaline's grin widened. "What? Don't tell me you're afraid of heights."

"No." Celestine sighed softly before bending her knees. "I'm considering whether following you up there is worth the effort."

"It definitely is."

"I disagree."

Celestine jumped.

Rosaline's eyes widened as the teal-haired vampire rose past the branch in a blur. Celestine twisted sideways in midair, raising one leg until it nearly formed a perfect vertical split before bringing her heel down.

The branch exploded beneath the impact.

Wood cracked violently as the nearly two-foot-thick limb split apart, dropping Rosaline along with it.

"You could've just climbed up!" Rosaline shouted as chunks of wood and splinters rained around her.

"I considered it." Celestine descended through the debris with a small smile. "This was faster."

Rosaline twisted in midair to avoid the largest section of the broken branch, but Celestine was already following her downward. 

When Celestine's pearl-colored nails extended and swept toward her face, Rosaline caught her around the waist before the strike could land.

"Oh." Celestine's eyes widened slightly.

Rosaline spun with her in midair. "Got you."

Celestine's teal hair flared outward before Rosaline released her.

She streaked sideways and slammed into another tree with enough force to shake the trunk violently. 

Leaves scattered from overhead as Celestine slid down until her boots reached the ground.

For a moment, she simply stood there.

Then she sighed.

"If Lavinia had chosen a field, I wouldn't keep getting thrown into trees." Celestine brushed several pieces of bark from her dress with visible discontent.

Rosaline landed nearby and laughed. "You destroyed the branch I was standing on! You don't get to complain about trees after doing that."

"You climbed into the tree."

"That was strategy."

"That was irritating."

Rosaline's grin broadened as she noticed the slight annoyance in Celestine's voice. "You're getting competitive."

"A little." Celestine pushed herself away from the trunk. "I don't particularly enjoy losing."

The two disappeared simultaneously.

Their next collision sent a dull crack through the forest.

Rosaline blocked a punch aimed toward her ribs and retaliated with an upward swipe, her extended nails narrowly missing Celestine's face when she leaned backward. 

Celestine immediately stepped sideways and drove a fist toward Rosaline's stomach.

Rosaline lowered both arms to guard.

Exactly as Celestine expected.

The strike never came.

Celestine shifted her weight and slammed her other hand directly into Rosaline's chest.

Rosaline's eyes widened before the impact drove her straight into the ground.

Dirt and leaves burst outward beneath her.

Before Rosaline could recover, Celestine was already above her. 

One boot pressed firmly against Rosaline's stomach while Celestine planted both hands on either side of her neck, positioning herself so Rosaline couldn't easily get her arms beneath her.

Rosaline immediately tried to buck her off.

Celestine barely shifted.

Rosaline twisted sideways, but the boot against her stomach forced her flat again. 

She grabbed one of Celestine's wrists and pulled, only for Celestine to adjust her weight and rob her of what little leverage she'd managed to gain.

Rosaline frowned. "Oh, that's annoying. Very annoying."

Celestine smiled down at her. "Do you yield?"

"No."

Celestine applied slightly more pressure around Rosaline's shoulders and neck. 

Rosaline strained again, but the position simply didn't allow her to make meaningful use of her strength.

Her expression gradually flattened.

"If I don't yield, you're going to break my neck, aren't you?"

"Probably." Celestine's smile remained perfectly pleasant.

Rosaline rolled her empty red eyes. "Fine. I yield."

The moment Rosaline said it, Celestine stopped applying force and stepped backward, removing her boot from Rosaline's stomach.

Rosaline remained on the ground for several seconds, staring upward through the sparse canopy before finally sitting up and brushing leaves from her red hair. "One mistake. I made one mistake and paid horribly for it."

Celestine offered her a hand. "That's usually how fights go. One mistake can be enough to lose."

Rosaline took her hand and allowed herself to be pulled upright. "That sounds unfair."

"Most fights probably are."

"I demand a rematch later." Rosaline brushed more dirt from her dress as they began walking in search of the others.

Celestine smiled and moved alongside her. "I'd be happy to."

Elsewhere, Valerie was having a considerably worse time.

She threw a punch toward Violetta's face.

Violetta caught it.

Valerie immediately kicked toward her ribs, but Violetta shifted her hips and struck Valerie's supporting leg with her own boot, forcing her to stumble backward.

"This isn't fair!" Valerie shouted indignantly as she recovered her balance.

Violetta laughed softly and followed her. "What isn't?"

"I ended up fighting you!" Valerie launched herself forward again, orange hair streaming behind her.

"You agreed to the teams."

"I didn't agree to this specific matchup!"

Valerie's boot swept upward.

Violetta caught her ankle.

Valerie's empty red eyes widened. "Oh, come on!"

Violetta drove her elbow sharply into Valerie's thigh, making the leg buckle before she stepped forward and punched Valerie once in the stomach.

Then again.

The two impacts sent Valerie flying backward. She struck the ground and slid through the leaves before eventually coming to a stop with her long orange hair spread around her head.

For several seconds, Valerie simply stared upward through the sparse canopy.

Why?

Of all the possible opponents, why had she ended up with Violetta?

She could have fought Evelyn. Adelaide. Rosaline. Anyone else on the opposing team.

Instead, she'd somehow ended up fighting the vampire with actual military training while possessing all the same physical advantages she did.

Valerie groaned and covered her face briefly. "This is the worst matchup imaginable."

A shadow fell across her.

Valerie moved her hands.

Violetta's fist was already descending toward her stomach.

Valerie reacted instinctively, snapping one hand upward and redirecting the approaching blow just enough to avoid taking it directly. Her other hand caught Violetta's wrist.

Then Valerie bit.

Her fangs sank deeply into Violetta's skin.

Violetta's empty red eyes widened.

The taste hit Valerie immediately.

Lilacs and rain rushed across her tongue alongside the dark sweetness of Violetta's blood, and for half a second Valerie herself seemed surprised by what she'd done.

Violetta recovered first.

Rather than wasting time trying to pull her wrist free, she redirected the captured arm downward and drove her forearm into Valerie's shoulder.

Valerie was forced onto her knees, her fangs tearing free from Violetta's wrist.

Violetta immediately kicked her in the chest.

Valerie tumbled backward across the ground while Violetta looked down at her wrist. 

Two deep punctures remained where Valerie's fangs had pierced her, dark red blood bordering on black slowly running down her hand.

Unlike the ordinary injuries they'd inflicted on one another, the bite didn't immediately seal.

The bleeding slowed, but the punctures lingered, vampire saliva interfering with the regeneration that would normally have closed such small wounds within moments.

Violetta stared at them for a second.

Then she smiled and laughed. "I didn't expect that."

Valerie wasn't on the ground anymore.

The rush of air above her made Violetta look up.

Valerie descended from overhead, her heel crashing against Violetta's quickly raised hand.

The impact shook the ground beneath them.

Violetta's boots sank several inches into the soil, but her arm held.

Valerie pushed away from the blocked strike and landed several feet back, immediately surging forward again. 

Her neat, pearl-colored nails extended a few centimeters as she swept them toward Violetta's throat.

Violetta bent backward.

The extended nails passed just above her neck, her long purple hair nearly brushing the ground before she snapped upright again.

Valerie gave her no opportunity to reset. She attacked left, then right, followed with another swipe, and immediately transitioned into a kick.

Violetta redirected one strike with her forearm, blocked another with her palm, then stepped inside the kick before Valerie could fully extend it.

Valerie clicked her tongue. "Stop being good at this!"

Violetta smiled as she shifted around another swipe. "No."

"You're horrible!"

"You're the one trying to claw my throat."

"We're fighting!"

"Exactly."

Valerie threw another punch.

Violetta caught it.

Her fingers closed around Valerie's wrist before she jerked the arm sharply to the side, pulling Valerie off balance. Violetta immediately stepped into her body before Valerie could create distance.

Valerie realized what she was doing a fraction too late.

Violetta's mouth reached her neck.

Fangs sank in.

Valerie's entire body stiffened as a startled shout escaped her. "Ah! Violetta!"

Violetta drank.

Warmth spread outward from the bite, the sensation strange enough that Valerie momentarily lost track of the fight. 

Violetta had simultaneously trapped Valerie's other arm tightly against her body, preventing her from creating enough distance to land a proper strike.

Valerie's empty red eyes narrowed. "That's cheating."

Violetta didn't answer.

Her mouth was occupied.

Valerie's free hand shifted behind Violetta's neck.

Her neat pearl-colored nails extended.

Then she drove them into Violetta's skin.

Violetta froze.

Valerie's nails pushed through skin and muscle, advancing dangerously close to the spine beneath them. 

A few centimeters farther and the damage would become considerably more serious.

Violetta chuckled softly against Valerie's throat before immediately releasing her bite.

She stepped backward and raised both hands. "I yield. I'd forgotten for a moment that I wasn't fighting a normal opponent."

Valerie blinked.

Then she slowly smiled.

The punctures Violetta had left in her neck continued bleeding slightly, showing no intention of disappearing as quickly as the scratches and bruises from the rest of their fight. 

Valerie touched them with her fingertips before looking at the dark blood left behind.

Her pride returned almost instantly.

"Good." Valerie straightened her dress and grandly flipped her long orange hair over one shoulder.

Violetta raised an eyebrow. "Good?"

"If I hadn't bitten you earlier, I would've been beaten into complete embarrassment at the rate things were going." 

Valerie lifted her chin proudly as she smoothed her hair back into place. "So I'm very happy things turned out this way. My honor remains intact."

Violetta looked at her.

Then she looked down.

Valerie followed her gaze.

Her dress was covered in dirt. Leaves were tangled throughout her long orange hair, one boot was half coated in mud, and the lingering bite marks on her neck were still slowly healing.

Violetta's lips twitched. "Does it?"

Valerie stared down at herself for another second before lifting her chin even higher. "My dignity remains intact."

Violetta smiled as she touched the two still-visible punctures on her wrist. "Of course it does."

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