The Sparring Match

This is joint-written. During a harmless sparring match, Niqi makes a nearly fatal mistake. To be on Glide's bad side is a horrible, horrible thing...

 

“Wake up in there!” Glide called, banging on Niqi’s door. “It’s morning. Time to get moving again. When you’re ready, meet us up on deck.”

Niqi stood and combed her hair with her fingers. She moved to where she had left her ankh shirt to dry, leaving the vest unbuttoned over it after she had put it back on. She looked over her outfit as best as she could. “Shetani has good taste,” she said to herself, and then ran up the stairs to the deck. “What’d I miss?”

“You missed Glide hauling the anchor up.” Mambo said. “The damn thing was covered with freaky, glowing jellyfish.”

“Strange,” Niqi commented. She moved to the front of the boat, where Ambree was looking out over the water.

“It still looks so damn far away,” Ambree complained, sighing. “I’m not used to being this bored. Not since I joined you guys, anyway.”

“We could always have a little sparring match to pass the time.” Glide suggested, grinning.

“Glide, with the way you hit, some of us would end up in the water.” Shetani chuckled.

“I was thinking the exact same thing,” Niqi said, grinning. “We could always spar below deck – although, in that case, we might end up springing a leak and sinking the ship.”

“We can fish anybody out that gets knocked in.” Glide said. “We’ll do it up here. Weaponry or hand-to-hand?”

“I vote hand-to-hand,” Niqi replied. “All in favor say aye?”

“I’ll go with that.” Glide smirked. “Aye.”

“Aye.” Maki said.

“Me too.” Mambo added.

Davis and Sandy grinned, setting their weapons down. “Us, too.”

“I’m neutral, but aye, I guess,” Ambree responded.

“That’s the majority.” Glide said. “Everybody that’s participating, weapons down. We’re going hand-to-hand.”

Ambree undid her katana belt and placed it on a corner of the deck.

Niqi put down her katana as well. “So, are we doing teams or every person for themselves?” she asked.

“I feel like being a dick and calling teams with elimination-by-knockout rules.” Glide grinned, setting his weapons down.

“Sounds good to me,” Niqi said, getting into a fight-ready position. “What will the teams be?”

“We’ll choose, dodgeball style.” Glide replied. “Me and you can serve as the ‘captains’.”

Niqi nodded, moving to stand beside Glide. “Shetani.”

“I’m liking this already.” Shetani smirked, standing behind Niqi.

“Oh, you wanna play it that way, huh?” Glide muttered, looking over his potential allies. “Ricky, you’re with me.”

Ricky nodded, hurrying over to his father.

Niqi smiled. “Over here, Ambree.”

“Hmm. I can’t tell who’s going to win yet,” Ambree said as she walked over.

“…Mambo.” Glide said.

“I won’t let you down, pinky.” Mambo snickered, heading over to Glide’s side.

“Before we’re chosen,” Maki said, “I propose the old lady and myself sit this out. Kavar gives me an unfair advantage, and she’s…old.”

“I could whip you all, if I had some cabbage.” Belleza smiled. “Cabbage is my strength.”

“Lujuria.” Niqi gestured for him to come to her side.

“Okay.” Lujuria said, taking his place on Niqi’s side.

Glide thought for a moment, then grinned. “Davis.”

Davis nodded, moving to his father’s group.

Niqi grinned. “Sandy. Ooh, family versus family.”

“I refuse.” Sandy growled.

“I’ll be okay.” Davis murmured. “It’s just for fun.”

Sandy sighed. “Fine. But I don’t like this.”

“That leaves you and me, Felix.” Glide grinned.

“Hurray.” Felix muttered, rolling his eyes.

“Right,” Niqi said. “Let’s get started.” Without ceremony or warning, she punched Glide in the face.

“Cheap shot, b***h!” Glide growled, responding with a quick punch of his own.

“Aw, what’s the matter, can’t take the pain?” Niqi taunted, dropping to the deck and sweeping Glide’s legs out from underneath him.

“Who says that even hurt?” Glide smirked, kipping to his feet and hooking an arm around Niqi’s shoulders. “Bye.” He said, heaving her over the side.

Niqi flailed wildly, managing to cling to the side with one paw. She heaved herself back aboard. “Not yet,” she breathed, smiling slightly. She jumped at Glide, vaulting off of his shoulder and spinning to kick him square in the back as she came down. “Come on, somebody help me out here!”

“What, you don’t think we’re busy!?” Shetani snapped, exchanging kicks with Felix.

Glide landed on all fours, pausing for a split second before springing backward, both hindpaws impacting Niqi’s stomach.

Niqi skidded along the deck, smashing into the side. “F**k,” she hissed, lying still for a moment before jumping up and shaking it off.

Ambree was delivering a kick to the side of Glide’s head by the time Niqi had gotten up. Niqi took advantage of his momentary distraction, grabbing him from behind and shoving him down to the deck.

Glide smirked, getting to his feet and holding on to Niqi’s legs, piggybacking her for a moment before swinging her sideways, into the mast. “Get off my back.”

“Oh, would you like something from the front, then?” Niqi asked, lunging at Glide and uppercutting him.

Meanwhile, Ambree was continuously attacking Davis with kicks. She tripped him up a few times and danced just out of his reach for the most part. “Come on, I know you can do better than that,” she laughed, vaulting off the side and knocking him over.

“Call this a betrayal if you want,” Sandy snarled, grabbing Ambree by the scruff and delivering a hard right hook to the back of her head, “but nobody touches my brother.”

“Ack! Well, someone was going to! We’re sparring. Get off of me!” Ambree hissed.

“If the she-wolf had picked Felix instead of me, you wouldn’t have to go for a dip.” Sandy said, throwing Ambree over the side.

Niqi stopped fighting Glide for a moment, seeing the betrayal. She was on the deck in a moment as a result. She got up and rolled away from Glide, towards Sandy. “Hey! What the hell was that?” She demanded.

“I’m a b*****d, like my father.” Sandy replied, kicking Niqi backwards. “And this is your own fault.”

“Sandy, come on, you’re ruining the fun.” Davis sighed. “You’re so overprotective.”

Niqi growled, jumping up and throwing Sandy off the side. “Betrayers get betrayed!” she shouted down at him.

“Hey!” Ambree yelled as the splash hit her. “Would somebody like to get me back up there? Sometime this year?”

“I swear to god,” Glide growled, wrapping both arms around Niqi’s neck, “if you ever touch my son again, regardless of the circumstance, what I do to you will make Jason’s death look like a f*****g tea party.”

Niqi growled, writhing in Glide’s grip until he let go. She started swinging punches at him rapidly. “It’s a sparring match. We fight in sparring matches.”

Glide caught Niqi’s fists, lifting her into the air by them. “Don’t make me repeat myself. Mambo! Fish Sandy and Ambree out of the water, this match is over.”

Mambo nodded without a word, tossing the rope ladders down. Sandy grabbed the ladder with one paw, then suddenly went rigid. Mambo hurried to pull the ladder back up, hauling Sandy up onto the deck.

Niqi sighed, slumping to the deck. “I was just getting into it, too.”

“What happened to Sandy?” Davis asked, glancing at his brother.

“Look.” Mambo said, pointing toward a ring of charred fur around Sandy’s ankle. “I think one of those jellyfish things got him…”

Glide glared down at Niqi, his eyes filled with fury. “Mambo, get some rope. Shetani, try to help Sandy.”

Shetani nodded, kneeling down beside Sandy and placing her paws on the Varixian boy’s ankle.

“Oh f**k,” Niqi muttered, staring wide-eyed at Sandy’s charred ankle.

Ambree climbed on board the boat and froze. “That doesn’t look good,” she stated.

Mambo hurried below, coming back after a few seconds with a length of rope looped around his shoulders. Staying silent, he handed the rope to Glide.

“Dominique.” Glide snapped, thrusting the rope into her paws. “Secure that to the mast.”

Knowing that, in his current mindset, Glide would kill her on the spot if she didn’t do as she was told, Niqi simply nodded, tying one end of the rope to the mast.

“I’ve done all I can.” Shetani said. “We should move him below deck, and let him rest.”

Glide snapped his fingers, all eyes immediately on him. “Maki, Mambo! Get Sandy below. Shetani, come here.”

Mambo nodded, helping Maki get Sandy below.

Glide’s attention returned to Niqi, the Varixian shoving her against the mast and using the rope to tie her to it. Snarling, he pulled a paw back, fist clenched. He paused, then shook his head, letting his arm fall to his side. “Dominique, I hereby strip you of your rank as an apprentice Crusader. And of your powers.”

“How–”

“Shut up!” Glide growled, cutting Niqi off. “This is just the beginning!” He reached back and took hold of Shetani’s wrist, his other paw pressed against Niqi’s forehead. Using Shetani’s power, the Varixian robbed Niqi of all her Channeler abilities. “Count yourself lucky I didn’t decide to throw you to the sharks.” Glide muttered, rendering Niqi unconscious with a swift strike.

Reviews

[selkietales]

Aw poor Sandy :(
And it just occurred to me that I don't recall any of Shetani's pranks except like one... does she do any?

[KEi]

LOL
"I won't let you down, pinky."
Pinky?
(and the Brain? One is a genius, the other's insane! They're dinky, they're Pinky and the Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain. Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain, Brain!)

LOL again
"Without ceremony or warning, she punched Glide in the face."

""Oh, would you like something from the front, then?""
Cue perverted mind.

OH SHI-
Glide's not happy.
o.O