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The day had finally come, the day that Erik and Colton were set to throw down and settle who was going to take Kelsey's hand in marriage. It was a nice August day, some of the daylight obscured behind periodic cloud cover, and little wind to get involved in their bout. The perfect weather. It was almost time for the show to begin.

“What are you going to do... if I lose?"

Kelsey sighed, standing in the shade of a tree nearby to the arena. “I don't know, Erik. Maybe I'll just kill him myself."

“Kelsey, dear, don't be like that." He responded.

Her ears perked way up, as her body loosened up from its tension for just a moment. “Hhh... I like that sweet talk you do..." She corrected herself, back into her serious mood. “But, I don't know if I want to deal without you around. Just... don't lose, please."

“I'll try my best. But, it's about that time. Let's get in before he says we forfeit."

“Yeah. Yeah, okay..."

The fight pit was really just that, an arena, made for people to fight. Since fights at the suiting were so commonplace, it only seemed necessary for there to be an arena to do it in. A dirt ground in between a raised spectator area, with a light wooden fence separating the areas. The crowds were gathered, just before noon, waiting for the bout to start. The usual suspects were there; Jarvis, Terry and Tom, sleepy Lisa, even Courier Coyote again. Colton was already there, waiting for his chance to fight. He had been practicing these past days, not that he wasn't strong enough to fight off a human. His claws and teeth had been sharpened and polished with all of this time to kill, he was ready to fight with all he had. As noon approached, the rabble of the crowd talking among themselves halted, and focused in on the grounds with an eerie hush. Kelsey walked in, with Erik in tow.

“What?! What is this?!" Colton snarled, drawing his ears back. Erik entered the pit with numerous clunks and clatters. He stood before the white wolf, as strong as he could, clad in Roman legionary armor, carrying a shield and gladius. The old set from the basement of the first house they entered.

He smirked from under his open-faced helmet. “Now I have fang, claw and shell."

His snarling continued. He knew he was getting cheated, and Kelsey helped. “You dirty cheater!"

“Just desserts." He smirked. He felt good about his chances now.

“No! That's not how this works! I-" A bright light passed over his face. “Gah!"

Erik chuckled as he tilted himself slightly to reflect the sun into Colton's face from his shiny breastplate. “You toyed with her, now she's going to toy with you. Through me, I guess."

Kelsey stood in the ring, getting between the two and interrupting them, and threw her arms in the air.

“Goldenmere! Today is the day that has been promised. Colton and Erik have agreed to fight for their right to take me as their wife, and it's been made clear that only through this act can it ever be decided. So, they will fight until one cannot any longer. I will stop the fight when it's clear who cannot fight any longer. As the old saying goes, 'may the best man win'." She dropped her arms, and backed away from the scene. Her speech rang with confidence, but inside, she was a nervous wreck. She couldn't handle Erik being hurt. But she knew he had to be the man and settle this thing with Colton, the way any other anthro would.

The fight began, and both circled around each other, waiting to see who would strike first. Colton, wound up and prepared to pounce. Erik, sturdy and wide-stanced, prepared to defend. The fight began slow, just circling, pacing, inspecting and studying. Insults began to come out, to unnerve each other.

“You fucking coward!" Colton called out. “You come to an honorable duel with a big knife and a wall? Wrapped in metal?"

“What's the matter, big guy? Can't handle a little human dressed like the shed he lives in?"

“What makes you think this is fair? Having the girl help you beat me? Huh?"

“Little payback for your playing with her. You wouldn't have stuck around, we all know it. You didn't want to get her by her rules."

“You can't even play by her own tradition's rules, either! This should have been denied the second you walked in! A human with a big knife? What a mockery!"

Erik grit his teeth. The adrenaline was making him shit-talk more than he was used to. “Well, I'm still here. You wanna call it a day or what? You look like you're aging just standing there!"

“I'll open you up like an old can!"

Colton swayed back and forth as he moved forwards, trying to catch Erik off guard. The stance moved with him, and Colton really wasn't sure entirely what he would do about the sword and shield. He took a quick swipe while jumping backwards, trying to test his limits. Erik blocked it, the claws scraping across the surface of the shield with an eerie grind. Colton came right back at him, and with little room to maneuver, Erik gave him a hilt in the face. Colton backed off in a hurry, feeling the blunt force to his face, but went right back at him, again, not giving Erik a chance to use the sword much. He tried to grab Erik, but his claws slipped off of the metal shoulders, and Erik slid around behind him to kick him in the back of the leg. His kick wasn't able to truly harm Colton, who pivoted quickly and swiped again, scraping off of the shield again. He backed off, not properly able to grapple the slippery metal man, and leaving Erik unable to actually use the sword.

“Nrgh... stop hiding behind that!"

“No, come get me."

“You're fighting dirty!"

“Nope. Just tactical."

“What are you going to do, stab me?"

“That's the plan." Erik continued to stay cool, but on the inside, his body was racing. Colton wasn't messing around.

“You don't really think I'll let you do that right?"

“Nope."

His adversary moved in closer, this time hoping to simply stop him from moving by being uncomfortably close. The sudden presence nearly shoved him back, but Erik kicked Colton in the shin, and when he recoiled, swung the sword, not as strongly as he probably could have. The blade scraped across his left forearm. Colton gripped his arm in shock and backed off. No way could that blade have actually cut him like that, he thought.

“Rah! Your claw isn't even a claw! You're still cheating!"

“Doesn't say a man can't use a sword!"

“Of course not! This wasn't made for a human! Your time is over, nothing anymore is made for a human!"

Erik's mind sparked. This was it. The one-liner. The perfect opportunity to drop a fat bomb on Colton's ego. “Kelsey is!" Kelsey giggled a bit, still horrendously nervous, as the snide rebuttal sent Colton over the edge.

“Rrrgh!"

Colton rushed at him, the sudden sprint was very swift. Erik tilted his shield, deflecting a swipe from his claws down into the dirt. He tried to strike back, but Colton had already moved back out of the way.

“You're slow, boy!"

“I guess so." He tried to stay in stance. The armor was heavy and the sun was hot, he wasn't used to wearing this much of anything. But he knew he only needed one or two good strikes to win.

The crowd commented as they scrapped.

“I can't believe he's holding his own!"

“Well yeah, he's wearing metal!"

“No way that's fair!"

“No, it's totally fair!"

“Yeah, he can cut that metal, no problem."

“He'll never do it, not with that sword there!"

“Bag of potatoes says he does!"

“You're on!"

Colton thought to himself, analyzing the situation as best he could. “I can't get near him, or he'll stab me. I can't stay away from him, or I can't hit him. I can't attack or he'll block. There must be something to deal with this little bastard..." He devised a tricky strategy of his own. Colton charged to Erik, who braced himself for counterattack, but he suddenly stopped, swiping the ground and throwing a clump of dirt into Erik's vicinity. The shield blocked most, but the dust in the air couldn't be avoided. He had to close his eyes and sidestepped, thankfully dodging one of Colton's claw swipes. He swiped again, but Erik was already back in formation, bashing the shield forward and stopping the arm from swinging. A quick stab with the sword mostly missed the mark, the edge running along Colton's arm again. It barely sliced off the fur, dealing only superficial damage. Still, he slunk back, getting away from Erik.

“Rgh, that didn't work... could try it again. No, he's expecting it." He focused on Erik, basically just a shield, wrapped in a metal carapace. “What exactly is his weak point? His weight? His face?" He furrowed his brow, the gears inside clearly turning as he tried to devise a strategy.

Erik watched him, eyes like a hawk. His body began to move. “He's charging again. He's not going to try the dirt. He's going to use weight. Get ready to counterstrike..." Colton lunged again, this time, jumping up instead. “Shit, abort!" Erik wasn't prepared for that, and slid to the right, getting out of the way. Colton wouldn't be deterred, and pivoted quickly, jumping again. He wanted to get over the top of the shield. Erik tried to prepare himself more, but Colton was both fast and heavy. As he landed on the shield, his claw raked across the front of the helmet, and over Erik's face. His mind raced as if time stood still. “SHIT! STRIKE!" At the same time, he took the damage to the face, Erik's sword jabbed forward, slipping through the fur and in between Colton's ribs, into the bottom of his left lung.

A bloodcurdling cry from both of them filled the air of the arena as they fell, brutally goring each other, Erik screaming in agony, and Colton forcing a wounded howl, his lung hardly able to do it. The crowd couldn't help but get into the action, but also be terrified of what was happening.

“Oh shit!"

“No way!"

“He fucking got him!"

“No, they got each other! Look!"

“They're both going to die!"

“Drink his fucking blood!"

Both of them cried in pain and scrambled away as best their adrenaline would allow them, panicking over their injuries. They each needed a period of deep reflection to proverbially lick their wounds.

“Oh shit! Oh fuck! My face! He got face, my eye! No, I don't want to be blind! Oh! No, it's my forehead, my eye is just bloody... argh it stings!"

“Fucking shit! He went for my heart! He almost fucking killed me! My lung, I can't breathe right... he crippled me on purpose! Fucking scum!"

They both faced each other down again, unsure whether to keep going or just immediately succumb to their wounds. Erik's face was covered in red, left eye closed as his blood streaked over it. Colton breathed heavily, the sharp pain in his lung laboring him dramatically, his white fur all along his left side stained red.

Kelsey, nearby, watched with horror, her paws over her mouth. Her mind raced as much as the fighters'. “Oh, oh! These two really are killing each other! Argh, this is all my fault! I should have just denied Colton, fuck what the people might want! It's my suiting, not theirs! Oh... Please don't die, Erik...!"

The Deckers stood with Kelsey, Shirley resting one paw on Kelsey's shoulder, and the other on her mouth as well.

“I can't believe this..." Will mumbled, completely enraptured with the combat. “This is way worse than a normal fight."

“Father, shush!" Kerry shushed him. “This is scary enough!"

Shirley clenched her own paws. “Come on, Erik..."

“You – shitty – pink – bitch -" Colton seethed, wheezing, blood dripping out of his mouth. Every breath was like breathing in thick fire.

“Come back - where I can - see you!" Erik returned, teeth grit, holding back the pain. All he could taste was blood, and all he could see was a blur out of his right eye. The intense stinging of the claws through his flesh distracted him, but still, he tried to focus.

Colton forced a chuckle, a cruel sneer, as his opponent could hardly see what he was doing. “Heh, you won't - need that other eye."

“At least I can smell where you are! You smell like chicken shit!" Erik taunted him.

“That's your smell!" He wheezed. “You live there!"

Erik had to admit, Colton got him there. Maybe he wasn't thinking straight. “Good one! Now come feed my sword!"

“Make me!"

Erik could barely see to back up his threat, but he knew he had to make it. This was no time to back down. “I'll 'make' you a rug!"

Neither were ready to give up the fight just yet. Colton circled towards Erik's left, hoping his blinded eye would hamper him, but he circled all the same, the shield always facing the enemy. Colton faked a charge, and Erik flinched. He was just a blurry figure to him right now, but still a threatening figure. Colton's real charge came in. Erik couldn't fully tell where he was swinging, but still he did his best. As Colton lunged in, Erik pivoted his left side back and slashed downward at where he thought the head was. This was it, this might be the last strike he could get in. He wanted to make sure it was a good one.

After the heavy reflex of swinging the sword, the feeling of everything changed. His senses dulled in a catastrophic moment, like a bomb went off. A heavy impact on his arms, the shield cracking off, the a loss of balance, and a loud thump. That was all Erik could sense. It all happened so fast, so simultaneous, that he couldn't even be sure he was still alive, let alone standing. He was, indeed, still standing, but not for long. He collapsed down to one knee and the crowd gasped again. Several nos and yeses were uttered from the crowd, but the sounds were hard for Erik to really make out. His vision started to turn black from the blur it was, and the world started spinning. Whatever happened, he didn't know, but the ringing, the spinning, the tunnel vision, those were familiar. He knew he was about to black out. There were only a scant couple of seconds before he would drop unconscious. All he heard was Kelsey's voice, like an angel to him, over a clamor of muttering and a ringing. “Hold! Hold! The fight is over, decree of w- whatever! Medics!"

Was that it? Was it over? He hazarded the guess and let go of the sword, it hitting the dirt with a clank. If it wasn't, he may have just surrendered to an intact Colton. But he knew he simply couldn't go on. This was now in Kelsey's hands. Her voice came to him again, muffled over the ringing in his ears, as she slid across the dirt on her legs like a baseball player to catch him. “Erik! My love... It's over."

His sight grew dim, the eerie blackness closing in all around Kelsey's worried face. “Did – I - ?" He failed to complete his sentence as he keeled over, collapsing into her arms, the dirt now turning to mud as it slowly soaked in blood.

“Erik? Erik!"