Chapter 13

"How high doyou think you could leap?" asked the guard standing closer to my upper body. I turned my head to look over at him. He clamped an arm guard onto his forearm as he looked up at me. "Or do you have no spring at all? Just looking at you it seems you have a lot of reach if you extend upwards with lift off of the ground."

"You will find out as soon as my mate arrives," I replied, studying the armor.

The group who had agreed to spar with me was a full squadron that had been training in the gym when I arrived. The gym itself was different from what was available on my planet. It had ropes and surfaces that were designed to help the Norratar train with the use of their claws, both for climbing and slashing. They had punching bags, balance poles, and a variety of weights in the corner. Most of the gym was set up as a huge obstacle course for leaping about, but there was a large padded section in the middle for sparring. There was a human woman climbing up and down on one of the vertical poles.

I focused my attention back on the group of Norratar soldiers gearing up to fight me.

It was a risk sparring with a group of the Norratar, as they wouldn't have the same rules of engagement. To try to mitigate the issue and make sure that I was going to give my mate the showing she deserved, we'd spent some time discussing the rules. The Norratar were all putting on armor that would protect them against a certain amount of compression, and some of them were going to be armed with electrical batons.

This had to be a real fight to assuage my culture's requirements, but I couldn't risk killing any of the Norratar soldiers without causing a serious incident, so I would have to hold back.

That should be obvious to any of my species who would watch the later recording.

But the other downside was the Norratar didn't want to risk killing me either.

Both of our cultures had ceremonial fights that could end in death, but there hadn't been any fights of that nature between any of the members of our two species, so this would be the first. The Norratar were not fighting me for a spot as one of my mate's males, and they had no dispute with me, so this fight didn't fit into the legal requirements for a brutal fight on either side.

We both had to be cautious with each other.

Yet I still needed to give a good showing or my people wouldn't not respect my mate.

Norratar claws couldn't penetrate the majority of my body, but they were donning gloves with color excretors in the tips, so if they managed to get to one of my vulnerable points, they could mark it with an ‘injury' and win the battle that way.

I couldn't lose.

"Wow, this room is HUGE!" my mate's voice called out from the door. "How do they even get a room this big on a spaceship? Don't they need the space for something more important, like an engine or something?"

"There is nothing more important than taking care of your body." The pole exercising woman dropped down and walked towards my mate, a huge smile on her face, her arms held out. She had blond hair with black streaks in it.

"Lorelei!" my mate called out, her face breaking out into a smile that was like the sun rising on the cold mist of the dawn.

I stilled, stunned by her.

I hadn't realized until that moment that almost all of her smiles before had been fake. The only real smile she had given me was the tentative one right before she told me she was going to marry me. Now that I had seen the real thing in its full glory, basking in the warmth that wasn't directed at me, did I realize that all this time she had been performing.

She hadn't shown me who she really was.

I watched her wrap her arms around the other woman as the two of them made high pitched squealing sounds and began tilting back and forth rapidly as they clutched at each other.

I wanted that.

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.

Now facing multiple opponents simultaneously, I employed my full range of serpentine agility. My tail acted almost independently, guarding and striking, while my upper body twisted and turned, avoiding blows and redirecting the force of incoming attacks. My head stayed low, avoiding high strikes, and I used my lower center of gravity to maintain stability and control.

I coiled as I moved, tightening up my body and raising myself up in the air.

As one soldier leaped towards me, attempting to use my tail as a springboard to get to my neck, I coiled tightly and then expanded rapidly, launching her gently through the air to land safely but effectively out of the fight.

As I came back down, I used the momentum to whip out and slam into all the soldiers who thought they were out of my reach. One of them flew backwards towards where my mate was standing.

I lunged for him, catching him by the vest before he crashed into her.

Her eyes met mine, wide as she stared at me, and a thrill shot through me.

She was watching me.

She was seeing me for the warrior I was inside, the mate that could protect and care for her in any situation. I was showing her that she would always be safe with me.

Finally, the one called Kevrar stepped forward, holding up his fist.

He had stayed out of the fight, standing and just watching until this moment. The squadron fell backwards, giving him the space to come close to me. He spread his color tipped claws and gave me a feral grin.

"Let's do this," he growled.

I was on the slippery part of the floor where I had less traction, having moved there to protect my mate from the flying body. Kevrar was in between me and the padded mat. Even though I was strong, and huge, and powerful, if given any chance, I would

Instead of launching myself at him, or waiting for him to come to me, I turned and darted to the side, towards the large pole the blond human had been climbing earlier.

As the soldier squared off against me, his gloves tipped with bright paint to mark his strikes, I cautiously circled the solid pole at the center of the gym, aware of his intention to target my vulnerabilities: the spaces between my hips and under my jaw.

He advanced deliberately, feinting high to draw my attention before diving low, aiming a swipe at the space between my hips. I swiftly coiled to the side, using the pole to elevate myself slightly and avoid his strike. As he recalibrated his approach, his eyes never left the target areas, plotting his next move.

With agile movements, I climbed up the pole, my scales gripping the surface tightly. From this higher vantage point, I watched him circle below, seeking an opportunity to reach the tender spot under my jaw. He lunged upward with a stretch of his arm, aiming a swipe. I rotated around the pole, letting his glove pass just inches from my jaw, the paint leaving a trail in the air where I had just dodged.

Not staying aloft for long, I slid down the pole with controlled speed to keep him guessing. As I descended, he attempted another strike at the spaces between my hips. I twisted, wrapping my body in a tight spiral around the pole, and his swipe only grazed the side of my scales, leaving a faint smear of paint.

Landing lightly on the mat, I maintained the pole as a barrier between us. He moved quickly, trying to outflank me and reach for my jaw again. Each time he lunged, I shifted my position, keeping my jaw just out of reach, his fingers brushing close but not making the direct contact he aimed for.

He feinted to the left and then darted right, a quick maneuver meant to disorient. But as he reached for the underside of my jaw, I recoiled back, using my tail to thrust me to the side. His claws swept through the space where my head had been just a moment before, narrowly missing and striking the pole instead, leaving a vivid mark on its surface.

As we both took a brief pause, the air thick with anticipation, he hadn't managed to mark any of my critical vulnerabilities directly. I flicked my tail, ready for another round, impressed by his strategy yet still unmarked where it mattered most.

I had been on the defensive, staying out of his reach and not attacking.

It had been intentional.

Kevrar was breathing hard, having worked harder to reach me than I had worked to stay away from him. I uncoiled from my defensive posture and advanced towards the soldier, who was momentarily taken aback by the sudden change in my tactics.

I lunged forward, feigning a direct attack to his midsection, which forced him to parry in a rush. Using his momentary imbalance, I swept my tail in a low, quick arc towards his legs, not to strike but to maneuver him into a less favorable position. He stumbled slightly, and I capitalized on his instability.

Circling around him swiftly, I leveraged my speed and the agility inherent to my serpentine form. He turned to face me, throwing cautious, measured punches, aiming to regain control. I dodged to the left and then to the right, slipping past his defenses and gradually herding him toward the pole near the edge of the gym.

With a rapid burst of motion, I coiled my body around the pole briefly to gain momentum, then launched myself towards him. Before he could fully react, I had wrapped my tail around his torso. Using the pole to stabilize myself, I tightened my grip, ensuring each coil restricted his movement further without causing harm.

He struggled against my hold, his efforts vigorous but futile as I applied gentle but firm pressure. I could feel his energy waning, his attempts to free himself growing less coordinated. I maintained my grip, not constricting enough to harm but enough to assert control.

"Yield," I hissed softly, close to his ear, as we remained locked in that position. After a tense moment, he relaxed his body, signaling his defeat.

"I yield," he conceded, his voice strained but respectful in its musicality.

I unwound my tail slowly, allowing him to regain his footing. He straightened up, rubbing his hands over the cracks in his protective gear.

I looked over at my mate.

Her cheeks were flushed, her mouth parted.

It was time to leave.