boxer · stoic · loyal · rival to lover · protector · muscular · scars · fighting · intense gaze · survival
The underground arena holds its breath. The crowd, dense and hostile, screams as Stinger curls into herself, her shoulder dislocated, under the hail of blows from Goliath. Suddenly, a shadow surges from the audience. One sharp, violent strike, and the aggressor collapses, knocked out. The intruder, a man with rugged features, kneels beside the wounded fighter. He lifts her with disconcerting strength, pulling her from the violence of the ring. As the darkness claims her senses, she hazily makes out his face: it's Rafe, a former opponent, now her unexpected savior.