Shabaka's Pride - Round 5: Match 2

             Tilian spat out of the wood between his dagger fangs. “I’m gonna be finding splinters for weeks,” he said.

            Meanwhile, Smalls stood frozen. He clearly wasn’t upset, he wasn’t the kind to get upset with people, but he knew what this loss meant. He was out of the championship race it would come down to a winner take all match between Shabaka and Amare. Shabaka must have been letting her anxiety show, because the next thing she felt was her father’s hand on her shoulder.

            “You alright Shabby Cat?” he asked using a nickname that made Shabaka feel like a little girl again.

            “Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. This just feels big.”

            “You can take a few extra minutes if you like,” replied Bard.

            “Please go if you like,” said Amare. “It won’t be an issue with me.” Shabaka knew her eldest sibling was not trying to be malicious, but the elf cultural honesty could sometimes feel harsh.

            “No,” said Shabaka looking up through her brow. “Let’s go.”

            Shabaka did not feel any honest hate for Amare, she loved xem as much as she loved the rest of her family. But this feeling must have been the so called ‘sibling-rivalry’ she had heard about before, because she wanted to punch them in the teeth. When xey had beat down Smalls, totally deconstructed his fighting ability, a fighter she was totally helpless against, it hurt her pride. 

            The thing about the error in phenology that was the ala’usra pride, and the ala’sura family, was that it had not gone unnoticed by the quat themselves, and perhaps it was intentional choice by the old tribes. What it had resulted in was that many quat, (including Shabaka,) at least subconsciously thought their family as part of themselves. So, when one disgraced a member of another’s family, it was seen as an attack on the whole family felt disgraced. So, if someone’s family was hurt, so was their pride. What confused Shabaka though was that Amare was her family, how could xey commit this harm of hurting this familial pride?

            When Shabaka had met Amare, xey were already who they were now. She had always known them as the young adult elf that revealed xey were family. In some way, that unchanging nature made Shabaka think of xem the same way as back when they first met. A stranger.

            It was a while before Amare took xyr position so that the match could start. Shabaka figured they must be playing mind games, trying to stop any mental momentum she had. Shabaka thought about it and decided that if xey were going to play mind games, so would she.

            “Match start!” Vito cried. Shabaka used this her cue to sit down and wait. Nothing above the belt had touched the ground so she was still in the match, just not doing anything. And by the looks of it, neither was Amare. Shabaka knew Amare were a reactive from their previous matches of the day and was not going to give xem that advantage and luxury.

Ten seconds passed, then five, then another ten, and then ten more. A full minute passed before Amare made xyr move. Amare’s stoicism was broken, their face communicated a genuine frustration with their little sister. Shabaka jumped to her feet and took a stance, readying herself for the incoming attack. Amare held the shovel by the spade and swung the wooden hilt at Shabaka’s head. It was a potentially match ending attack, but one she easily ducked under. This put Shabaka in a position to swing up an uppercut with her clawed right hand. But the attack also left her chest open and undefended. Amare swung a left hook at her belly.

“I don’t want you to take this too seriously, but also don’t, hold, back.” That was what Bard had said at the start of this tournament. It was an inherent contradiction that was making Shabaka struggle with her own thoughts, along with the current agony Amare had inflicted upon her. She knew that Amare was not doing it out of malice, in fact xey would be the first one to check and make sure she was alright after the fight was done. But Shabaka wanted to cause an even greater pain to xem. Why though? Why did she care so much about winning this morning game with her siblings? One word rung in her head, pride, in both of its quat meanings.

I can’t handle them being stronger than me, because if they are, they must protect me. I don’t want to make them do that, if I can’t surpass them and prove myself stronger, then I will have to rely on them and be their burden. No, I must protect them from evil, I’ve got to be stronger!

Shabaka refused to let herself lose. She shifted her weight, so that instead of falling back, she fell forward, onto her knees. Once again, below the belt, and perfectly legal. Her next action though, she wasn’t sure about because it was below the belt in a different way. She punched Amare in the balls.

People often mistook Amare for male, even though elves had long abandoned the concept of gender. But most elves looked totally androgynous, Amare on the other hand had slight male characteristics, on account of xyr human heritage. Still though, those who knew even the first thing about xem only used gender neutral language. But in this specific moment where everyone with testicles in a three-mile radius cringed in sympathetic pain, even Shabaka almost thought Amare was their brother.

Amare staggered back, cupping xyr groin. Shabaka lunged forward, extending her claw. With a wind like speed, Amare took the shovel xey had dropped in front of them, spun it up, and caught Shabaka’s claw. The same way Amare had won their previous matches, it was now happening to Shabaka. All according to her plan. By blocking Shabaka’s attack, Amare had locked them both in place. Shabaka grabbed onto the shovel and ripped it from Amare’s hands. Amare attempted to dodge but it was too late. Shabaka jammed the shovel’s hilt at Amare’s gut. The attack connected, and Amare hit the ground.

“I… I did it,” said Shabaka, stunned and unable to keep her grin from consuming her face. She jumped up into the air in glee stretching out her whole body. As she fell back to the ground, so did her mood. It was guilt she felt, something was wrong with her.

 

	Amare	Vitoroy	Tilian	Smallblade	Shabaka	Points
Amare	~	L	W	W	L	2.0
Vitoroy	W	~	L	L	L	1.0
Tilian	L	W	~	D	L	1.5
Smallblade	L	W	D	~	W	2.5
Shabaka	W	W	W	L	~	3.0

Amare vs Shabaka: Winner, Shabaka Bin Asa’um. Match time, 2:50.

Tournament Champion: Shabaka Bin Asa’um