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I wanted her smiles, her high pitched affection, her unbalanced displays of adoration. I wanted her to show me who she really was. When she was in distress, I wanted her to cling to me, not a chair, knowing that I could give her the support that she needed.
I wanted all of that, but I knew that such a gift was something one earned. It couldn’t be taken or demanded. If I wanted her to trust me and love me with the depth at which she loved the other humans in her life, I needed to prove myself to her, not just as a male who could take care of her, but as an Atisari.
First, I had to show her that I could keep her safe.
I had to show her that I was the mate she deserved.
I slid towards her, the floor cool and smooth against the underside of my tail. It was slightly slippery, and I had to take the level of friction into account in the upcoming fight if I was going to move off of the padded mats.
“My mate is here so we will begin,” I announced.
She let go of her friend, looking over at me.
“Begin what?” Jessica asked.
“This is a ceremonial fight required by my culture as part of the marriage,” I said. “I will show you, my wife, what I am capable of doing on your behalf.”
“By all means.” She gave me one of her practiced smiles as she waved her hand towards the room. Then she lifted her wrist up, tapping on her screen. She was going to record the fight. I made note of that. “Go right ahead.”
I turned and moved back to the middle of the open space.
The soldiers came towards me. My body coiled and uncoiled with seamless agility as I surveyed the disciplined ranks for any signs of vulnerability.
As one soldier thrust a quick jab toward my midsection, I smoothly sidestepped, my body flowing effortlessly. With a quick flick of my wrist, I delivered a rapid palm strike that sent him staggering back, his grunt of surprise filling the air.
Another soldier approached, fists defensively raised, feinting left, then right. I read his motions, my body responding with swift, anticipatory moves, evading each of his strikes. My movements were a blur, dodging, weaving, slipping through his grasp as effortlessly as water escapes a clenched fist.
When the soldier tried again, aiming precise punches, I twisted away, using my extended limbs and prehensile tail with serpent-like grace. My counter was swift—a strike to the soft underside of his arm where nerves cluster, briefly numbing his limb despite the armor. He staggered back, his eyes wide in a mix of pain and respect.
Another soldier leaped forward, her kicks slicing through the air towards my torso. I bent backward, my spine arching beyond human limits, her foot passing inches from my face. Rolling forward, I utilized my tail to unbalance her, sweeping her legs from beneath her. She landed with a thud that echoed through the gym.
The fight intensified, each soldier attacking in turn, trying to overwhelm me. I moved amongst them like a storm, unpredictable and all-encompassing. My strikes were calculated, targeting exposed joints and unprotected flanks. With a flick of my tail, I tripped one, and with a coil of my body, I disarmed another, always maintaining fluid control and precise, debilitating contact. My lashes served to keep them at a distance, spreading them out around me.
For a moment, there was no one close enough to strike.
The Norratar soldiers paced around me at a distance, believing themselves out of my reach. I waited patiently, choosing not to close the gap prematurely.
As the skirmish resumed, a soldier launched a high, arcing roundhouse kick towards my head. I swiftly lowered my body to the ground, letting her kick pass harmlessly above. Sliding forward, I used my tail to wrap around her ankles and pulled, toppling her onto the mat.
Behind me, I detected the rush of footsteps. Twisting around, I extended my tail in a defensive maneuver, ensnaring the charging soldier by his waist. With a powerful constrictive squeeze, I cracked his armor and sent him staggering back, gasping for air.
Facing a new pair of attackers, I noticed them coordinating their moves. As one distracted me with rapid jabs, the other attempted a flying knee aimed at my torso. Using my elongated body, I enveloped the first soldier with the upper part of my tail, restraining his arms and neutralizing the jabs, squeezing hard. Simultaneously, I caught the second soldier’s knee with my hands, using his own momentum to spin him into his partner, causing both to crash to the ground in a tangled heap.
Spotting another soldier attempting a low attack aimed at my midsection, I arched my body upwards, sending the one I had in my clutches rolling out to the side before I struck downwards with a swift, powerful tail whip. The impact sent him sprawling backwards, dazed by the force of the blow.
As the group tried to close in tighter, hoping to restrict my movements, I used their proximity to my advantage. I lashed out with my tail, creating a barrier of force that knocked several back. For those who came within reach, I employed my coils, wrapping around limbs and torsos, applying pressure and leveraging my strength to subdue them without causing harm.
Another soldier dared to approach from my left, wielding a training baton as he aimed for a strike to my head. With a swift undulation of my body, I slid beneath the swing, my scales brushing the gym floor smoothly. As I rose, my tail coiled around his arm, pulling him off balance and bringing him close. With a gentle but firm squeeze, I disarmed him, letting the baton clatter to the ground, then I released him as he regained his footing, slightly bewildered by the rapid disarm.
The longer I fought, disarming and gently tossing the soldiers, the better it would be.
Any of my people would be able to see how delicate I was. It would look like I was playing with them like a child plays with toys. If the fight wasn’t going to be vicious, I could at least make it look like I was toying with them.
To my right, a soldier tried a more tactical approach, attempting to circle around to my rear. Anticipating her move, I countered by expanding my body in a wide arc, effectively cutting off her path. She hesitated, and in that moment, I struck with the tip of my tail, delivering a quick, pointed jab to her midsection, knocking her back down to the floor.
The intensity escalated as a pair of soldiers teamed up, one engaging me head-on while the other sneaked behind. The frontal attacker feinted with a series of punches, which I parried with my forearms, while my tail curled around the legs of the one behind me, pulling sharply. He fell to the mat, and I immediately refocused on the first, surging forward to use my weight advantage. I wrapped my tail around his torso, lifting him slightly off the ground and squeezed him hard enough to crack his armor, then set him back down.
He stepped back out of the fight, effectively ‘killed’ by compression.
