Feeling Nice

You patted the rat girl on the head. “Chin up, I’m feeling nice today.” She looked up, eyes wide and hopefully until she saw you grinning down at her. Kara and Jeane pushed through the crowd behind you. Everyone was just walking past without paying any mind to the scene, as if it was commonplace. You stared up at you in horror.

“You s-said you were feeling nice.”

“I am. You’re gonna show us around and be my servant for a while.”

“What!?” Blubbered.

You dressed her up in Jeane’s maid costume that you had kept around. But, you didn’t stop there. You tied a crude leash around her neck so that you wouldn’t have to be ready to chase her on a moment's notice. She kept the leash slack so that you wouldn’t pull on it, and walked ahead with her shoulders slumped.

“This is nice?” Kara asked.

“It is nice.” You reiterated.

“What were you planning to do if you were mean?” She stared at you with wide eyes. The rat’s ears twitched, looking back curiously for your answer.

“I was gonna strip her down and rob her for everything she had. Even the stuff that isn’t worth anything.” The rat gasped at that. Kara was amazed.

“Don’t look at me like that. I didn’t do it, so now you know how bad it could’ve been.”

“Where’s the training ground, my dear?” You asked.

“It should be under the coliseum floor, right, but I don’t see a way in so far.”

“You don’t get the way this place works. There is no underneath. The coliseum floor is chained up to the sides and the whole underneath is hollow.”

“What?” You stopped, pulling her back by the leash. She flinched and turned around suddenly.

“What’s hard to understand!?”

“Show us.” You asked.

“Can you do that?”

“I can, but once I do, that’s it!” She demanded.

You smirked. “Awfully demanded for a thief that got caught. But sure. Once you show us that, I’ll let you off your leash as a show of good faith. That’s probably more than you should even get.” She stared at you obstinately with her small fists clenched. The rat people had tiny sharp claws on the ends of their fingers and they were, by default, shorter and more sleight than even humans. For beastfolk, who tended to be stronger and faster, they were scammed.

“Fine…”

She led you through a lattice of pathways down below the section you had been exploring where most of the traffic was. In contrast to the people of the thoroughfare that were walking into the coliseum on business, or staying in the upper levels, the people below were huddled into compact spaces blocked off with patchwork quilts. There were sporadic side rooms and stopovers in the stone maze. Eventually, when it felt like you were being led in circles, the rat stopped and gave a quick look around before ducking into one of the stopovers. You all stepped over people's things, as it seemed like you were stepping into an open home. At the back there was a thick crack in the wall stretching from roof to floor. It was narrow. Narrow enough for a human, luckily, but not one in armour.

“In there.” She pointed. You began taking off your armour. She covered her eyes.

“Relax. I’m just trying to fit.” You were lucky your chest was bound tight, or you wouldn’t have been able to slide sideways. You watched Kara try after you, only to be stopped by her plump rear and chest. She gritted her teeth and hit the side as Jeane smirked at her and slipped through, leaving the girl behind.

“Fine!” Kara shouted angrily.

“You and the flat chest club have fun in there!”

You sighed. “We’ll only be a minute. That girl…” You slid sideways for at least ten yards before finally coming out onto a beam. You stepped out behind her and gulped. Looking down it was a vast, round expanse stretching down into pitch blackness. Above you saw the halo of the arena floor. As the rat suspected it was suspended by chains like a giant cap on the hole that was the centre of the coliseum.

“What the hell…” You muttered, eyes trailing up the walls. They were smooth with reinforcements running the whole way up.

“I don’t get this at all…” You remarked.

“Look at what you are standing on.” Jeane pointed out from the safety of the crack.

“What I’m-” You looked down and noticed for the first time that the beam was actually a bolt as big as a tree trunk stuck into the wall. It was undoubtedly what cracked the 30 foot stone wall of the coliseum.

“Thirty…” the wheels in your head started turning. The inside of the wall wasn’t solid. It was filled with clay, as well, though the stone itself was many feet wide.

“Oh my god.” You stared down into the hole, your heart beating quickly.

“What?” Jeane asked. The rat looked back, too. She was sitting down on the end of the bolt which, based on the angle, had been shot from above. You squinted, finding many more along the inner wall.

“This was a rampart. It wasn’t a coliseum, it was a fort. Inside and out.” You stared at the rat and urged her towards you.

“Hey, come back towards us.”

“Come get me.” She stuck out her tongue, knowing that walking on the rounded bolt that had been tilted at an odd angle would be extremely difficult for either of you. You gave her an unimpressed look, asking with your eyes if this was the place she wanted to make her stand. She got it immediately and slid back to you. You all made your way back through the crack together to the inside.

“What were they keeping out?” You wondered.

“Maybe it was an incursion site.” Jeane guessed.

“I’ve never heard of anything like that. I never even heard this place was hollow.”

“It’s a secret.” The rat stated.

“Not many people know about or explore the cracks. There’s nothing out there anyway. Nobody talks about it and the big coliseum thing is like a cap so nobody sees too far down or thinks about what’s under.”

“A literal cap.” Jeane remarked.

“To prevent something big from coming through? Something that they would need those bolts to shoot down?”

“Not sure.” As promised you released the rat.

“What’s your name, by the way?”

“Minea.” She rubbed her neck and you could tell that she was thinking very hard about just making a break for it, but that she saw you, and saw Kara staring her down with her big, golden eyes.

“S-so you just need to find the training grounds and I can go after that?”

“Yep.” You smiled.

“Got it… Keep up.” She began moving at a quicker pace, but one that you all were able to keep. As you were walking behind her you asked.

“Minea, what’s your sob story? I hear every thief has one.”

She thought for a moment. “I just like shiny things. Gold. Money. Eating is pretty nice.”

“Why not get a job. I’ll let you keep the maid outfit~” You teased.

“Cut the crap!” She shouted back at you angrily.

“Bully!”

“Thief.” You retorted.

“What do you need money for?”

“Nonya.” She said off-handedly.

“What’s that?”

“Nonya’ business.” She stuck out her tongue.

“Kek.” You heard a sound and looked back to see Jeane covering her mouth. Kara was looking straight ahead. She smiled at you as you looked at her.

You were led through the maze of passages. Wherever you went, the context of it being a fortress changed your view. The lower levels were maze-like in case there was an infiltration. The walls were thick and made to withstand attacks from both inside and out. All of the rooms and off-shoots were places where supplies would be stored, and the lower levels were chilly on purpose so that food could be kept for longer. You were brought up a few levels, but not all the way back up to the surface level. Instead there was a turn into a wider area that then opened up even more into a huge circular hall. Looking over it, you realised that it was the cap, but then looking up further there was another stage suspended above by massive chains. The bottom ‘cap’ that you saw was fastened more solidly, with grating all around the edge that obscured the nature of the abyss, but still seemed to let light through.

“We’re here. You gonna keep your word?” Minea asked.

You stepped onto the training ground. “Yeah, you’re free… Go ahead and take off. Also, check who you’re stealing from next time. Maybe someone else won't be so nice.” She did not say a word before leaving.

“Rude.” Jeane commented, pulling her hood extra tightly around her face due to the presence of many people in uniforms hanging around. Some were training and some were just socialising.

“In my home a thief would be given ****.”

“Oh yeah?” You inspected the grounds more closely, looking for any sign of Teuta.

“Blood draining.”

“That’s a bit….” You trailed off, noticing a circle of people. You began walking towards it, guessing that there was some kind of sparring match going on. The grounds were extremely wide. All in all it seemed to be one-hundred yards from end to end, which was wild when you considered that there was a hole that wide stretching down for who knows how long. When you considered that many of the people around looked like soldiers, not competitors, it struck you that there was a heavy **** stationed in such a small area.

It’s also possible that they use this as a way to show off.

You got closer to the crowd and pushed your way through to see a circle drawn in rope on the dust. You recognized the uniforms as belonging to squires. The squire ensemble of Teor was exemplified by its lack of armour. Layered cloth with padding in between was used, and the various services the squire was committed to were sown into the top layer. You were not sure where everyone was in the fight. They had just separated after an exchange of blows.

There was a human squire to your left. He had short brown hair and his uniform was decorated with many services and two coat-of-arms. This typically meant that one was the squire’s own family, and that they had a legacy of Knighthood, because being in service to two lords was not acceptable. On the right you saw a girl. You could tell she was a girl because her armour was tight to her body. She wore no sewn patches. It seemed like she was getting bullied. To support that idea, you noted that many of the onlookers were grinning at the display and the squire on the left was seeming incredibly cocky. She was also a dog beastfolk. She had the unmistakable triangular ears with white tuft around the edge that funnelled inside. Her hair and coat were both dark. Her eyes were a halo of sky blue around irises of pitch black. She had a long tail with white on the fringes underneath. It curled up.

People were talking. “That’s the ‘Hero Candidate.’”

“Just as I thought, there was definitely some kinda mistake. No way a dog without any services at all would be selected. Maybe it was a joke?”

“A joke?” You interjected. Looking closely, at first it seemed like maybe the girl was being bullied. In fact, when you inspected her stance the only thing that came to mind was that woman, the blonde Knight. Not just that. There was something else that you recognized. That meant…

“She’s definitely going to win.”

The two boys laughed at you. They were also squires. Each of them had at least two patches. The taller of the two smirked at you.

“What are you, a mercenary? What would you know? Sfen’s from a noble house. That bitch from some island no one’s ever heard of.”

You shrugged and added calmly. “If you’ve never heard about the Isle of Elga it’s your loss. It’s at the frontier of your Kingdom… The borders are more attached to Garmea than Teor but then how would such a people manage to remain a part of this Kingdom and not the other?” You smirked at their reaction. In front of you, the girl’s eyes flitted to you, her ears were swivelled towards you as you spoke. Sfen took the distraction as an opportunity and went for a decisive blow. The girl barely deflected it, causing all the boys to laugh.

“You still sure? Doesn’t matter where she’s from. Maybe she’s a defect.” The shorter squire teased.

The girl blushed. You smiled at her, gave a little wave and pointed to her opponent, mouthing ‘pay attention there, not here.’ She breathed in, then out and nodded, centering her vision. Before Sfen could attack again she went in low, causing the other squire to also shrink his mass by getting down. Before reaching him she zagged, opening up her stance and taking a more traditional posture as she used her reach to jab. He opened his stance and stretched back to move. She levelled one more traditional attack that he deflected.

“She can’t even get through.” The taller boy observed.

“Bait.” You covered your mouth and yawned as the girl advanced the moment his wider stance was set by his need to plant his feet when deflecting. She got low again and moved into his block. He stumbled back and presented a wide, fast swipe with his sword. She predicted it and deflected the blow at a weird angle. Her sharp eyes centred on his grip and her ears twitched subtly at the sound. Without looking she slid right down next to him, rose up with her back to his chest and flipped him over her shoulder onto his back. She placed her sword to his neck, panting.

“See?”

“I- I give! You win.” He admitted. She relaxed, but you could see something that her senses couldn’t. Intent. As she lowered her sword and relaxed her stance the moment he said she won, Sfen grabbed her ankle with his free hand and stabbed up at her with his sword. She gasped, losing her footing because of the grab to the point that she had no way to defend against the stab. She fell back and in one second you had caught her in one arm.

“Pay attention. Sheesh.” You mumbled as she sunk into your arm. You stomped on Sfen’s wrist, making sure to break it. She was stunned, staring at your other hand. The only way you could stop her from being stabbed was by grabbing the sword. You had gauntlets, but your hand was bleeding onto the dirt. Sfen screamed and let go of the sword the moment you broke his arm, so it was just you and the girl.

“Hey are you-”

She shook. “Are… Are you-”

“I’m fine.” You smiled.

She frowned and squirmed out of your arm, turning to point her sword at you. “Th-then you must submit yourself for harming a squire and a Noble of Teor.”

You were stunned. At first you laughed, then you looked at her with raised brows. “Hah- Wait, you’re serious!? I saved your life, idiot!”

“Thank you.” She said firmly.

“Now that you’ve confirmed you’re fine, this is a separate matter. Submit yourself for questioning and punishment. This isn’t a negotiation. I will not hold back in subduing you.”

“H-hey. Come on, now, Leniency for the fact that I fucked my hand up saving you LIFE!?”

She shook her head. “This and that are separate matters. I’d prefer you surrender so that I don’t need to do this.”

You gritted your teeth. “Fucking dogs…” You stood up straight, unsure yet what you were going to do.

“What’ll be the name of my subduer?”

“Heilan von Elga. Surrender!” She barked. You could tell she was being serious. It was a common fact that dog beastfolk held an intense loyalty to their Kingdom above and despite everything.

***

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