Expanded Horizons: Beyond the Blue

In the Ring: Chapter Four

Idara rinsed the dirt off her face in her private basin, away from wandering eyes. Still shaking from the fight, she gripped the sides of the bowl and stared at her reflection. She had just barely squeaked out the victory with that arm bar and throw, narrowly avoiding a seriously cracked set of face bones.

Arena fighting provided an adrenaline rush like no other, and Idara had come to love it. Especially when she proved herself more than capable of taking on the men's division in her weight class. Today was her second fight against a male opponent, and in spite of the differences in their physiques, Idara knew strategy well enough to crush them.

"Idara?" Ulan's voice beckoned. "I've got some people who want to meet you!"

Idara took a deep breath and walked out. Ulan acted as her manager as a fighter, as she wouldn't trust anyone else with any of her personal information, and he probably had some company rep with him again. She had done plenty of endorsements and had a steady stream of regular income, but more was never a problem.

"Hey, sorry if I'm a bit of a mess, I-"

Idara froze in her tracks. Before her stood the grand champion of all arena classes, Dolf Baumann. His home weight class was the same as Idara's, though only because unlike just about any other fighter, the man was about four percent body fat. Idara had seen a lot of his fights, and always made an effort to get front row spots for his end-game shirt toss, even if his fangirls always got the shirt.

"Oh, uh, hi," Idara said, wiping the water from her face. "Uh, Dolf! Or, Arrow, I guess, I-"

"Dolf is fine," he said with a light chuckle. "Arrow is just my stage name, and I'm hoping we can get past those. Unless you want me to call you Galactica?"

"No, definitely not, haha," Idara said nervously. Dolf smiled. Nearby, Ulan narrowed his gaze at the Botanik elf. "What, uh, what brings you here?"

"You do. What else?" Dolf said. Idara felt her heart begin to race. "I've been watching you in the women's divisions, absolutely crushing it. Then you come to men's, and STILL, you haven't lost!"

"Oh, well, I mean, I just do my thing, ya know?" Idara half-smiled through her obvious nerves, leaning against her basin. Dolf chuckled. "Fighting is kind of, my, thing. I guess."

"I'd certainly say so," Dolf said. "Maybe you and I could discuss that over dinner some time? I'd love to know how you came to be so insanely talented."

"Oh! Sure, yeah, that'd be awesome!"

"Fantastic! How about Friday night, nineteen, the pastry shop two blocks from the stadium main entrance?" Dolf leaned in. "I hear they've got awesome sourdough bread."

"Sounds great!" Idara said. "I'm game!"

"Haha, good, good, I'll see you then! For now, I should probably get to my own manager. He's probably got an expression similar to Ulan's."

Dolf turned around and flashed a knowing look at Ulan, who returned it with suspicion and warning. Dolf maintained his innocent gaze just a moment longer before making his exit, leaving Ulan wondering if he should lay off on the protective dad gambit a little. He had started doing it as Idara's manager to scare off the fanboys, but Dolf seemed like he could be a decent guy.

"I don't like his facial hair," Ulan said firmly, trying to be stern.

"It's like if you took a long blade of grass and peeled each line," Idara said. "I've heard that Botanik elves' hair feels weird, but it's always cool to the touch and mossy."

"Is his skin rough like bark?" Ulan asked.

"I hope not," Idara said with a smirk. Ulan failed to notice.

"Idara, I don't mean to be like an overprotective dad, but it's kind of a habit now that I've been keeping your weird fanboys at bay," Ulan said. "Also I don't like having to throw people on the ground when they just want you to autograph their body pillows of you."

"Their what?"

"He seems like a good guy, just be careful."

"I always am," Idara said. "I've met plenty of people who know him, he's good. And anyway, I'll figure that out by meeting him myself."

"Fair enough."

"For now, I need to focus on my job, and how to get better at it. I won, but I don't like how close it was."

"You mean not very?" Ulan said with a smile.

"I just managed to move him where I needed to. I should have an easier time manipulating my opponents."

"So strength?" Ulan asked.

"I need a lot more of it. I'm at the bottom weight limit of my class, I can afford a few more pounds of muscle."

"Sounds good to me," Ulan said. "I'll get some programs and trainers lined up."

"Good, and a nutritionist. I need every edge I can get." Idara took a seat by her mirror and looked over her face and body. She had some bruises on her arms and face, but nothing too serious. "I'd like to maintain my natural good looks, ya know."

"I'd say so, but I like lady dragons, not lady elves, so my standards are weird," Ulan said. Idara turned and deadpanned her expression at him. "But you are very pretty." Idara raised an eyebrow and smirked.

"Thank you," she said. She picked up her brush and started getting her hair back in line. "How are your songs coming?"

"Oh, gosh, they're just pouring out of my head!" Ulan said excitedly. "Every time you turn the fight around, every time you throw your hands up in victory, it just gets the crowd wild and I feel the excitement flow!"

Idara chuckled and listened intently as Ulan prattled on about his songs. She always loved hearing him go back to his normal self when he talked about non-business things. It helped her stay grounded, kept the fame from getting to her head. She had to remind herself that Ulan had been famous before they even met sometimes, and he somehow managed to be such a great goofball of a dragon.

At the end of their day, Ulan and Idara left the arena for their apartment to rest up for their next great feat, whatever it may have been, excited for the future of meeting new people and what crazy things lay in store for them with the greatest variable in life.