The Gladiator
My first two steps onto the arena were met with the roar of the crowd and the heat of the sun on my glistening armor. Adrenaline rushed through me as I raised my golden sword to the crowd and shouted above them, "Are you ready?!"
An even greater eruption of cheers came from my numerous fans. My admirers came from far and wide. There were the nobles--mainly purebred horses, canines, and felines--who made gracious donations, the peasants--mice, rabbits, and lizards--who looked up to me, and of course the guards--rhinos and elephants--who weren't allowed to show partialship one way or the other, but I knew they loved me. Everyone did.
"Alafor," said the emperor--a tiger dressed in royal wear and topped with a silver leaf crown--raising a paw to silence the crowd. I turned to him with a grin, anticipating his next challenge for me. "You've been with us for many years, Alafor... You know how things work by now. You should consider it an honor that you have lived this long, but that ends today."
I scoffed, pulling my helmet off to give my mane a shake. "Ha-ha-ha, what is this foolery? You know I cannot lose."
The tiger grinned, flicking his paw. "You're such a cocky cub, aren't you?"
I took a step back. "Cub?" My fur prickled with anger, a low growl in my throat.
"You sure as Hell aren't going to be much of a man when this beast is through with you."
Grumbling, I put my helmet back on and commanded, "Enough talk, cat! Send out who you think can defeat me!"
"If you wish..." The tiger turned from me and raised his paw, drawing up a metal gate across from me. "Prepare yourselves for the mighty dragon!"
The furs throughout the rows shivered with fear, but I steeled myself, looking into the darkness of the pit in front of me. Let's see what you're made of dragon, I thought as stray clouds of smoke drifted over the opening. The smell alone burned my nostrils, but I gripped my hilt harder, barely able to keep myself from lunging into the darkness.
There was a flash--a hot, fiery flash of orange and red across from me. "Oh shit!" I shouted, jumping out of the way of a fireball. Just being that close to it singed the bits of exposed fur--mainly on my tail. "You mother fucker," I growled, raising my sword and charging at the dragon still hidden.
I could just make out its shape, my sword aiming right for its heart when I heard a sharp snarl and a gigantic, green scaled tail came from the depths and swept me off my feet. "Urffff...!" I groaned, getting flung onto one of the surrounding walls. "Ah...ah...hah..." I huffed, falling to the ground with a hard thud, my sword falling just a few inches away from me.
"That was cute," growled a throaty voice as bright, red eyes came out from the darkness and a dark green body with red highlights followed. My eyes shot open at the sight of him--he was the biggest dragon I'd ever seen. But more than that he was a feral that was...talking.
"You can speak...?" I asked in a half-choked voice.
The dragon chuckled quietly, amused by my words. "Of course. We all can." He looked up at the emperor for a moment and said, "Stripes up there couldn't cut my tongue out like he could the others." With an exasperated sigh, the dragon spread what was left of his wings. "Couldn't stop him from taking my wings though. Bastard."
I managed to pull myself up far enough to reach my sword and roll onto my feet, getting into my battle stance. The dragon didn't seem bothered by this, a dull expression on his face. "Once I kill you, I'm going to kill that miserable tiger and everyone else here that's been killing my family. Do you understand me, warrior?"
"Silence! Beasts were not supposed to speak. You will learn your lesson..."
*Hey there! Here's something I wanted to try out... Comment on whether the main character should let the dragon live or kill him in the comments and I'll write what happens in the next part.
Thanks! I hope you enjoyed this first part!