Blend the Light

Welcome, New Gladiators

Before me stand two dog-like creatures, both with long legs and a slender build. One has short, tan fur and pointy ears with a strip of grey running across their dark blue eyes and down their chin. The other is much shaggier and their coat is a much darker brown while blonde fur is spiked over a worn strip of cloth that's tied around their forehead. Their long, floppy ears prick as he hears me approaching and their orange-brown eyes focus on me. "Hello, I'm Arrow. What are your names?"

"Woah! You're the Arrow?" The dog with short fur breathes.

"Ye- er, uh, y-yeah I am. What's your name?" I manage to stutter out the words.

"I'm Jay and this is my brother, Hawk."

"You know I can introduce myself, right?" The shaggy dog says with a halfhearted frown on his face.

"So, Jay, Hawk. Ready for your new life here at the Wasteland?" When I first started giving tours, the guards said to emphasize the gift and opportunity we've been given and to show off how wonderful the Wasteland is. I just make the Wasteland seem like it's a little better than it really is and make myself appear like I somewhat enjoy being a Gladiator. "I guess?" Jay replies.

"Hawk?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to prove myself by killing others." I don't know if he's being sarcastic or not. I hope he's being sarcastic. After nodding I start the tour starting with the Pit.

"Here's the Pit. It's where you'll get your food and train. Here at the Wasteland, we believe in learning by fighting an opponent rather than teaching moves to you one by one. You'll fight against what we've nicknamed the Clicks for their clicking noise they make. A rule you must follow is to never fight another Gladiator unless you're in the Wasteland arena and to never kill the Clicks as they will never kill you. Don't worry if you get injuries while training, everyone does and they'll heal. Follow me and you'll discover the Armory."

"Seriously, Arrow? 'Discover the Armory'?" Bear walks up to me.

"What?"

"That sounds oh so fake! Say what you really mean. Probably something like 'you'll never get enough points to be able to get anything of significant value since, I, Arrow, win every single Wasteland battle."

"Hey! Don't talk to Arrow that way. He wins because he can actually fight. Unlike you, whatever your name is." Jay jumps towards Bear, his tail thrashing.

"My name is Bear, thank you very much. You'll learn soon enough that unless you are Arrow, your life is pretty much trash."

"At least here you get food given to you. You don't have to hunt and fight for it." Hawk takes a step towards Bear, a slight smirk on his face.

"Just you wait. See you all later, I've got some training to do. Arrow, I'm coming for you." Bear turns and stalks off towards a training mat. A moment later, a Click jogs to the mat and faces its opponent.

"Arrow, are you worried about fighting him?" Jay turns towards me, his eyes holding the slightest bit of fear.

"Bear? He's got a pretty aggressive fighting style. Defense isn't really his style. I should be able to get him fairly easily unless he completely switches his strategy."

"Hey, can we try out training? Those Clicks look pretty fun." Hawk is watching Bear fight the Click. He's bouncing on his paws.

"They are if you can watch out for their wicked claws. Those things hurt!"

"When can we give fighting a go?"

"Let's see. I still need to show you the Armory and explain the points system. Oh, there's the medical wing and the Chambers," I lower my voice and lean towards the brothers, "If you'd like, in the Chambers we can go into my cave and I can tell you the fighting styles of a few of the Gladiators."