Fighting and the Girls 2 – Distant Problems

Fighting and the Girls 2 – Distant Problems

‘Ya really don’t need to do that,’ Rave commented telepathically as she watched from her vantage point. Sitting on top of a rock in the earth segment, she followed Copernicus’ movements as he jumped around their opponent. It was a pretty one-sided fight, almost exactly like a cat playing with a mouse.

They were still massively stronger than almost anyone attending the tournament. In fact, the only people Rave knew for sure were a challenge and likely to win against her were John and the Art Eater. A few others had shown to be pretty capable over the day, with a surprise candidate from the Amacat also blasting her way upwards through the bracket. Rave would probably meet her in the half finale if everything went on.

She could have asked John for the girl’s level, but she preferred to do these things on the fly. Especially in a tournament setting where she wasn’t really in any danger.

‘I’m not just a glorified mana refinery!’ Copernicus hissed back way more intensely than Rave had anticipated any answer to be. At the same time, he seemingly decided to end the fight, his golden fur glowing and transforming him into a streak of light as he pounced with more force than his small body indicated, ripping the enemy to the floor.

The floor, in this case, being the artificial pond in the water section of the arena. While Copernicus jumped off his opponent’s back, securing himself from the wet fate, the opponent dropped in like a boulder. Copernicus hadn’t harmed him in any meaningful way, at least Rave didn’t see any blood in the water that would be evident of claws getting used, but the person gave up anyway. Likely out of a sense of futility.

“Ya wanna talk about that?” Rave asked once Copernicus strutted over to her, the suncat walking with his tail raised high. “‘Cause I get the feeling we should kinda talk about that.”

“For all I care, shortly,” the light elemental meowed back as they walked off. “I just don’t like being the weakest around,” the solar feline opened up surprisingly easy. For all of his cattish mood swings and indecisiveness, Copernicus was committed when he actually did make a decision. “I’m going to manage, just irks me sometime.”

“Well, I still need ya in an advisory role,” Rave reminded him. Denying the reality of their power situation wouldn’t do them any good and Copernicus was the one responsible for much of her growth. On her own, Rave liked to laze around and only do the minimum training. Wanting to keep up with her boyfriend in some fashion had solved the motivation issue. She still sucked at deciding what she should train though, which was where the solar feline was the most important.

Sure, he was weaker than her, but being a light elemental, he had a lot more insight into a lot of the magical aspects of her toolkit. At the same time, he was the one to create the training regimen.

“I know, you’re awful at organizing,” Copernicus purred back in a friendly, mocking fashion as they tapped out of the arena. “And my original intention in serving you was to only give you the tools to fend for yourself. Which I am doing a splendid job at.”

“Eh, 6 out of 10,” Rave returned in an equally bantering fashion. “Can’t beat Romulus yet.”

“Of course you can’t,” Copernicus meowed and rolled his neck in the same way people rolled their eyes. “Point being, I just don’t like being one of the weaker people around. Not a paradigm my last contract shared.”

“Ya don’t talk about that one a lot,” Rave pointed out, barely even knowing that there was one.

“Because it wasn’t a great time,” Copernicus meowed back. “I mean, the weather in Germany is nice.”

“Eh, could be hotter,” Rave commented, remembering her own younger years in Europe.

“But,” Copernicus continued, “had I known that the idea behind the contract was to eventually meld with someone, I wouldn’t have taken it. I liked the guy, but I wouldn’t have died for him, and him then trying to figure out a version of the ritual that forced me to comply... not cool.”

“People that are mean to cats deserve a kick in the balls,” Rave exclaimed.

“Ah, there is my favourite girlfriend!” the Lightbearer heard John greet her once she had made it out of the arena’s innards and back up to the watcher’s area, particularly the area the Gamer had reserved for himself and those close to him. Not far below, a couple of news channels had put up their cameras filming the entire event. “And her attached sass cat.”

“We gonna be fine, right?” Rave asked, lowering her hand down in front of Copernicus’ face. After looking at it for a few moments, sniffing as if that wasn’t the same hand he had seen countless times before, he rubbed the side of his face along her hand.

“Like I would let this get me down; the alternative is breaking the contract and going back to that immensely boring elemental plane. Listening to Sol and Father Light bickering again. You’re momentarily obnoxious, but I can deal with that if it means I get to stay here.”

“You’re such a tsundere,” Rave giggled, pulling her hand back up as Copernicus turned to leave and stroll around the island on his own. “I’m gonna ask Aclysia for some tuna later, kay?”

“Good contractor,” Copernicus shouted back one last time before jumping down a few stairs and eventually vanishing from sight.

John evidently didn’t mind the momentary ignoring, as he was on the phone. “Who ya talking to?” Rave wanted to know when she sat down on his right. That side had been claimed by Salamander until a moment ago, the endflame elemental respectfully giving the Lightbearer her spot. The left side was covered by Aclysia, who was embracing the Gamer’s and snuggling up against him.

At this point, that had become the habit of almost everyone in the harem, so Rave followed suit. She hadn’t always been that touchy with him, although she was generally someone who liked physical contact. It was just that her boyfriend had changed so much for the better that constantly hugging him was just so satisfying.

“Jeez, yes, Lyly, I know,” Rave joked, “ya need to relax and not take everything people say apart on a fundamental level, my girl.”

“I suppose I could stop, but I find it hard to judge when you are genuinely wrong and when you are speaking in jest. I do apologize,” Lydia responded with a sigh. “While we are on the topic of me and lectures, please make sure John is not repeating plans like his current one too often. It’s a way to grow enemies.”

“Well, he calls it machia-whatchacallit.”

“Machiavellian,” Lydia stated.

“That’s the one!”

“Well, it most certainly is. I know he is aware, but with him it’s a constant struggle to find out if he is being extremely smart or simply arrogant at times.”

“He usually got things, so I don’t think we need to worry too much.”

“Last time he didn’t, he had the lucky outcome of only losing his eyesight,” Lydia’s iron tone sunk right into Rave’s chest, as if someone was pushing a frozen piece of metal against her. At the same time, the tune in the background turned to slow, deep notes. “I grant him that it wasn’t majorly his arrogance that caused that, he weighed the odds and came up short, but I want to keep the odds of repeating that as low as possible. Surely, you don’t need that preached.”

“I really don’t, no,” Rave answered in a serious tone. “Heavy stuff... yeah, I’ll keep an eye on him. In less serious but still unpleasant news, did ya hear about the birthday problem?”

“I am in the know and in the process of formulating my alternatives,” the queen responded swiftly, the piano picked up to a quicker, less damning melody. “Since I already took my schedule into account, I am flexible around the allocated time frame.”

“Ah, alrighty,” Rave hummed. “And did ya hear about that thing Salamander bought?”

“Is it something that doesn’t burn?”

“Pretty sure a couch can burn...”

“What would she require a couch for?”

“Apparently she and Siena have like some sort of plan? Don’t quote me on that, you better ask them yourself.”

“I certainly think that having agreed to Sylph’s proposal was already service enough to make good on my general cooperation willingness.”

“To be fair, it is a pretty hawt idea.”

“The way you pronounce that word offends me... oh, Mother Metal...”

“What?” Rave asked, confused as to why Lydia suddenly sounded so shocked. Even the piano stopped.

“I just realized I am currently engaging in idle talk and gossip...” Lydia mumbled into the phone, and Rave could just see her pinching the bridge of her nose. “What a waste of my time.”

“Aww, don’t be like that, Lydia,” Rave pouted into the microphone. “I can hear ya having at least some fun.”

“Do I sound amused?”

“No, ya sound not extremely annoyed, which is your version of amused,” Rave teased. A frustrated sigh came along with something that was almost a laugh. “Now you DO sound amused!” the Lightbearer exclaimed triumphantly.

“I am forced to admit that your antics are my social life,” the metal mage conceded. “I suppose I have another few minutes. Do inform me what else I have missed between the girls... and skip nothing that I could use to annoy Siena with.”