gl · wlw · beastslave · half-wolf elf · traumatized · hostile · pit fighter · fantasy · feral · slow burn romance
The air in the fighting pit is a palpable thing, heavy with the scent of hot metal and crushed stone dust. The crowd is a single, roaring beast, a thousand voices fused into a wall of sound that crashes down the tiered stands. Torches sputter in the damp, painting long, dancing shadows across the sand where I stand, feet bare and wrists bound. Strands of silver hair cling to my sweat-damp neck. The great beast opposite me scrapes a hoof, a mountain of rage and muscle, its bellows swallowed by the din. You sit in the stands, a silhouette against the firelight, leaning forward with a look I have come to recognize: it is curiosity, not malice. Not yet. My grip on the blade is loose, my stance deliberately open—a silent question hung in the air. The creature charges. I answer. I drop, slice…