Fight, Flight, or Gut You Like A Fish?

"I WILL ROUNDHOUSE YOUR ASS!" - step brothers

》 Y/N pov 《

"You ready for me to beat your ass again?"

"I wouldn't be so confident, if I were you." Bahtoh snickers as he readies a fighting stance.

I match his smirk with my own, and charge. Same as before he dodges, dropping low I grab a fist full of sand. Prepared to throw it in his face, I'm met with my own face full of sand. 

"Blegh-"

Before I can even get a word out, or the sand off, Bahtoh sweeps my leg. Landing my ass in the sand. I wipe the sand away just in time to avoid Bahtoh's foot. 

"Wait, we're still going!?" I roll repeatedly out of the way of his stomps. 

"Of course!" Bahtoh states matter of factly, "you bested me and now I am adapting. You should do the same."

》Veta pov《

I scowl as Ayull dodges another one of my strikes. 

"Are you regretting that bet now, Veta?" Ayull chuckles, flexing his one available arm, while the other is bound behind his back.

"You taunt me Ayull," I dive and again he dodges. "But I haven't lost yet!"

Pulling back I aim the end of my spear at his foot. Then I strike! I pin his foot with the end of my spear, I swing up into the air and kick across his face. Swinging around and back to the ground, I expect to see him ass up in the sand. But dread fills my stomach as I turn, and he's still standing!

His head is still snapped to the side, bit as he slowly turns to face me his eyes darken. The air around Ayull seems to darken as well, filling with the smell of danger. 

"Oh cjit."

》Y/N pov《

A few rounds later, 3 to 0 in Bahtohs favor. Again. We take a small break for Bahtoh to check a message on his gauntlet. As I'm waiting, sipping on a glass of water, I can't help but watch Ayull and Veta. 

They're training with staffs again, only this time Ayull is only using one hand. The other, literally, tied behind his back! Still they both move with grace, and deadly accuracy. I can't even fathom how Ayull is keeping up with Veta. Veta just moves so fast! It's like he was built for speed, his nimble body gliding effortlessly through the air. But Ayull is just as capable. He avoids and counters every attack thrown at him. 

Then out of nowhere Ayull changes tactics, he goes from defense to offense. And it is incredible!

His whole body changes, his eyes sharpen, the hold on his staff shifts, his stance, everything. Ayull's fighting style is different from Veta's.  Where Veta is precise in aiming, Ayull makes big swings. Trying to push his opponent into a panic. Ayull invades Veta's personal space, making him use up his energy on dodging. With a final, brutal swing Ayull lands Veta flat on the ground.

"Woah." That was… incredible!!

"Glad you two are enjoying yourselves." Veta grumbles while still on the ground. 

"Don't be so hard on yourself, you lasted much longer this time." Ayull snickers as he hefts Veta onto his feet.

"Yeah, yeah. Go lick an egg!" Veta punches Ayull in the arm.

A round of laughter passes through the room. Lick an egg?? What kind of insult is that! My chest starts to ache from laughter. Ayull unties his arm all tge while laughing, his mandables bounce and his shoulders relax. It's nice to see him relaxed.

》Bahtoh pov《

"You guys are gonna want to see this." The red screen flashes with warnings, and it does nothing to calm me. "Out in the hall." 

"What is it?" Ayull is next to me within moments. "More attacks?" 

Y/N is about to follow, a look of confusion resting upon their face. But I hold up a hand, "No Y/N, you stay here." 

"But-"

"It'll only be a moment, I promise."

Their face changes to anger, but their scent is still worried. So they simply cross their arms and sit criss crossed on the floor. With a slight feeling of guilt, I leave the room. Ayull and Veta right behind me. 

"Is it from Prime?" Veta rounds on my other side.

"No. It's a wanted poster… of Y/N."

"WHAT!?" Veta shouts directly in my ear.

'Ouch'

"How is that possible? Does another alien want Y/N? What if a badblood takes up the offer? What if-"

"Calm yourself Veta," Ayull lays a hand over Vetas racing heart. "Give Bahtoh time to explain." 

The moment I received the message a strange feeling nested in my mind.  But nothing could have warned me from what I saw. Blurry images of Y/N and Ayull in the market. 

"It appears the 'oomans know about Y/N. But they know nothing of us." I hand over my gauntlet to Ayull. "They've only written about Y/N."

"It says that Y/N is a 'ooman fugitive, and that bringing them in will bring reward." Veta snatches the gauntlet from Ayull after he reads it. 

"They can't expect every alien to know how to read this, can they?" Veta's pupils seem to shrink as he re-reads the notification.

"It's safe to assume they guessed. But they aren't wrong, most have the technology to translate text media." Ayull huffs, his eyes growing solom.

'Ayull, don't you dare-'

》Ayull pov《

'How could we be so careless!?' 

All this effort to keep Y/N out of the picture, and they're still dragged in. Seems the gods won't give me a break. 

I can hear Bahtoh and Veta talking, but it's all muddled. I can feel the air leave my lungs, but my exhale is all fire. Rage burns my insides, and fear poisons my mind.

'I failed!'

Taking a breath I direct my anger. It takes only a moment, but the aftershock will sting my knuckles for a while. A large dent is left in the wall from my punch a few seconds ago. The sound is still echoing off the walls.

"Ayull don't you dare," Bahtoh places a hand on my shoulder. "We did what we could, you did what you could. These 'oomans are clever. So don't you dare blame yourself." 

Bringing my now bloodied hand to cradle Bahtohs face, I nod. He is right, I know he is. But that doesn't take the shame away.

"Hey, is everything ok?" Y/N rushes through the door, fear painted on their face. "I heard a loud bang." 

"Y/N, there is something you should know."

Hah! Another chapter!
More drama for my lovelies >:)
I hope everyone is having a nice time, and I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter!
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And prepare for more!

- with love(?)
      The Author