Fight Me

Ava dragged her sword across the cold concrete, the blade sending bright red sparks into the shadowed night. She locked eyes with Joy, who let her own sword illuminate in a trail of sparks.

The two circled each other, not daring to break their stares, despite the moonlight glinting off the edges of the longswords.

"Do it," Joy gritted, baring her teeth at Ava. She waved a hand over her chest, raising her voice, "Strike me!"

Ava curled her fingers tighter around the hilt, sliding her hand up towards the chappe as she surveyed Joy. 

They both wore armor, thin plates of metal clumsily draped over their shoulders, clanging against their chests and backs as they moved. Joy had arrived to the scene topped with a helmet, though she'd removed it in favor of flashing her hungry eyes at Ava.

Neither were wearing any other forms of protection, only thin fabrics clothing the rest of their bodies. Ava and Joy each wore thick leather boots, though Joy's had stopped fitting months ago, and Ava had a large tear in the side of her own. 

Joy made a aggravated grunt, raising her sword in the air. She let gravity take hold, the metal hitting the stone with a clink as Ava swung her other hand the the bottom of the hilt. 

"Coward," Ava taunted, raising an eyebrow as her opponent readied her hands. Ava blew a clump of hair from her eyes, blinking the dust away. 

Joy cocked her head, her deep breathing exaggerated by her cuirass. She continued in her circular path, closing in on Ava with slyly placed steps. "I'm ready," she hissed, pressing her tongue against her teeth. "Fight me, Ava Ornson, fight me."

Ava shook her head, though Joy did not restrain her advance. Ava lifted her sword from the ground, silencing half the screeches in the air. 

Joy's eyes darted towards the weapon, lifting her own up towards her shoulder as she lunged towards Ava.

Ava raised her sword in defense, meeting Joy's with a clank. Joy landed on her feet, shifting her stance as she landed, dipping the blade of her sword to block a swipe from Ava. 

Ava stumbled as she was interrupted, allowing Joy just enough to time to land a slash on her upper arm, cutting a clean line through her threadbare shirt and skin. 

Ava gasped, though she looked up and ducked in time to spare her neck from Joy.

Joy grunted as the weight of her blade pulled her to the ground, sending her back leg high enough in the air to meet Ava's sword. Joy cried out as the sharp edge pierced her skin, painting a long line of red across the back of her calf. 

Joy returned the favor with a forceful swipe, plunging her sword into the air as she turned to Ava, her strike so close to Ava that it drew a single drop of blood from the outside of her ear.    

Ava paused as the swoosh of the sword passed her ear, allowing Joy enough time to spring up, though she limped on her cut calf.

Ava glanced at her opponent's injured stance, raising her sword in defense as she cried, "Yield!"

Joy lashed her sword in response, which Ava stopped by kicking her hurt leg from beneath. Joy dropped to the stone ground, yelping as she fell.

She maintained her grip on her sword, quickly recovering her focus and swiping the edge along the front of Ava's thighs.

Ava failed to lower her sword in time, clenching her teeth she felt her torn pants become sticky and marred with blood.

Joy released a vengeful, "Ha!", striking Ava's ankle with the rounded end of her sword.

Ava shrieked as she collapsed, almost covering the snap of her ankle. She winced as she looked up at Joy, who raised her sword high above her head in preparation to strike.

Ava ignored the pounding in her ankle and brought her own sword sideways above her head, ready to intercept Joy's fast approaching blade. 

As the mighty clank filled their ears, Ava flicked her sword to the side, losing her grip on her own hilt as both weapons flung meters away.                  

Joy roared a curse, twisting her body to face the fallen weapons. She pushed her palms up from the ground, though she failed to stand as her leg quavered.

Ava made no attempt to stand, relief crashing over her as Joy slumped on the ground, quitting her endeavor. Ava glanced down at her ankle, yanking off her boot to find it a deepening shade of pink. It throbbed as it swelled, almost making itself a second heartbeat.

Dissatisfied, Ava looked back up to Joy. They were sat on the ground a few feet away from each other, barely close enough to touch hands if they both reached out. Joy, however, did not seem to care, as she gently wiggled her own boot off, rolling up her pant leg to see her entire calf.

Joy felt the corner of her eyes burn as they teared, her hands shaking as she processed the length of the wound, coupled with the long crimson river adorning it. The wound pulsed, and only became angrier as she tried to move her ankle.

The night was filled with both girl's panting as they examined their injuries, before they eventually looked back up at each other.

A lone tear rolled down Joy's cheek as she met Ava's dark brown eyes. She wiped it away with a blood-stained finger, leaving a light streak of red as she muttered, "I yield."

Ava nodded, looking down at her own broken ankle, before she added, "So do I."

They sat in silence for a moment, until Joy reached up and pulled her cuirass off her shoulders, flinging it away from her body with such force that it dented as it crashed into the ground beside her.

Ava copied, though she tossed hers away with more muted aggression. She looked back up at Joy, before ripping her shirt off as well.

Joy watched Ava in confusion, staring as Ava found the cleanest area of one of the sleeves. Ava ripped it off with her teeth, before closing the gap between them, offering it to Joy.

"It's bleeding a lot," Ava stated, pushing the fabric towards Joy. "It looks like it hurts."

Joy cautiously took the scrap, swiftly tying it around her cut. "I think you got my tendon," she said, trying to cover the exhaustion in her voice.

Ava looked at the ground, her face rushing with heat. "Sorry," she mumbled, forgetting her own pain as she raised her eyes back to Joy. "I didn't want to fight you."

Joy stifled a laugh, giving Ava a look that brought out the wild in her eyes. "Of course. Of course neither one of us wanted to fight each other."

Ava scrunched her eyebrows, though Joy continued, "Why wouldn't we both be fooled into fighting each other? Our mentors probably just wanted us to kill each other." Her voice broke with frustration, though even that was marred with hysteric undertones.

Ava reflected only for a moment, before figuring that Joy was correct. Every other time they'd been told to fight, they'd both limped away, crawling back to their mentors beaten and bruised. As her ankle pounded and another tear ran down Joy's face, Ava deducted, "They almost succeeded too."

Joy shifted closer to Ava, inhaling sharply as her lame leg dragged behind her. She reached into her back pocket, pulling out a small package, a napkin tied shut with twine. Joy unwrapped it, revealing the two small slices of bread tucked within. She offered one to Ava, who thanked her as she accepted.

Ava giggled slightly, turning to Joy just as she was taking her first bite, "Do you always fight with bread in your pocket?"

Joy finished chewing, swallowing quickly. "Sometimes, hunger strikes," she quipped, taking another bite.

Ava ate some of her bread, glancing over at Joy. They'd grown up being told they were enemies, and they would forever be, until one could slay the other. Yet, Ava carefully eyed Joy, realizing they didn't have to be each other's villains.

Ava's sword completely left her mind as she let herself sit with Joy, content with eating bread with the woman who was no longer her enemy. She saw it more as two comrades sharing bread, peaceful under the moon and star-dappled sky.