The tall, dark Kee'Awloo stepped over the body of the fallen man, staring into the eyes of the human who committed the offense. With face devoid of features, and paws hidden within the sleeves of his robe, he issued his ruling.
"The Humans have won again!"
The crowd around, mostly made up of humans, or the random Kohanian who could afford a ticket to the day's event, cheered wildly. As the jackal raised his paws, the crowd fell silent.
"With this victory, the Humans have extended their record at Rai Sae Vall to a perfect 112 wins, and no loses. After such a humiliating display, is there ANYONE who dares challenge these fine sportsman?" The Kee'Awloo, a promoter of the sport obviously, asked, spinning slowly to take in the great crowd that surrounded the field of play.
There was a commotion at one side of the field as someone tried to get through. The Medics were carrying off the wounded from the last game, but it was not for them that this attention was requested. At first it started with a few people in the back of the crowd being bumped to the side, but as whoever it was neared the field's edge, their civility ran short, and people began being actually THROWN out of the way. Soon, the first row parted, and a great black stallion with white lines painted all over his bare chest, stood with eyes narrowed to the six humans standing at mid field, and the promoter staring with jaw agape at the display.
"Wind Catching Fallen Leaf, I wish to challenge the furless ones. I will prove to them that their victories have been nothing more than luck...My team is ready to show them what our people are made of." The stallion roared, spittle flying everywhere with his outrage.
The promoter slowly looked over his shoulder at the obviously intimidated humans. "What say you, Men? Will you accept the challenge of The Dread Steed?" His eyes twinkled, knowing full well that if a challenge was issued on the fields of Rai Sae Vall, there could be no denying the challenger. This was shown by the human team captain looking over his team and then turning back to Wind with a slow, nervous nod.
"It is settled then! After a brief intermission, the bidding will begin for the match between The Dread Knights, and the reigning champion Humans!" He raised his paws and quickly seemed to be whipping the crowd up into a frenzy. Everyone was excited about the bout, that is, except the humans on the field.
Wind Catching Fallen Leaf slowly walked away from midfield, towards the Captain of the Dread Knights, motioning for the taller beast to lean down so they may converse.
"I do not want them killed, do you understand me? They make us much in bets, and to have them win keeps the Furless Ones happy and not suspecting the true reason that we signed the peace treaty with them. Get this through your head, Steed, I will appeal to Her Majesty if any of those Humans are not able to play their next match. Also, I am entering them as the underdog for this match, meaning that you had BETTER make it good."
The stallion looked over at the Humans, huddled scared on the other side of the field. He snorted loudly and then nodded his understanding before standing back to his full height and moving back through the much more accomodating crowd to several black robed, and hooded, figures. When they all huddled around them, he scanned over the group, slamming two of the other, smaller, figure's heads together, causing hisses and growls to issue forth from the shadows of the hoods.
Thirty minutes had passed before Wind walked back out to the center of the playing field. He looked around the flat, grassy land, and then seemed to meet every gaze that was fixed upon him. In a voice that seemed to echo off anything possible, he announced that the betting for the match would now be beginning, with odds in favor of the Dread Knights to come out on top, five to one.
Bets began flying as gold coins, jewels, even clothing and accessories began being laid down in favor of the larger, stronger competitors. There were a few who took the long shot odds and put a bet on the Humans, but the majority had faith in the home planet stars.
After giving the people plenty of time to get in with their wagers, Wind waved his paws in the air. He knew full well that betting would keep going on until the final verdict was given, but this was a formality that needed to be heeded.
As the waving began, the humans came out and took their positions on the field. Two stood inside a large oval section in the center of the field, three more stood just outside the oval, and one went back to guard an area between two ten foot tall poles in the center of a large half circle of stone. They looked confident now, sure that they would be able to take their opponants. In their minds, they knew they didn't get to where they were by luck, that they were truely skilled at this game.
That faith, however, was shaken again when the crowd parted on the far side of the field, almost to the other goal, and down that aisle walked six hooded, robed figures, all with heads down chanting in some dark, ancient language. The procession made it's way to the halfway point between the goal, and midfield, and stopped, heads still bowed.
As one, all six members of the other team raised their heads, pulling back the hoods to show the faces of the Human's opponants. Three of them were Dy'Unnar, a black leopard, white tiger, and a spotted cat that could have been cheetah, or leopard. Two more were Kee'Awloo, a jackal and a hyena. And then the last of the group was the huge black stallion. All snarled menacingly and pulled off their robes, showing black breechs beneath, with no covering on the upper body of most, except the hyena who was a brute of a female, she wore a sort of sportsbra tanktop.
Wind waved each of the captains to him at the center of the circle, going over the rules and expectations while the rest of the Dread Knights took the robes to the sidelines and left them in the care of the Sha'Nai overseers.
"Alright, I want a good clean match. Steed, you know that your team will have to wear gloves and muzzles to avoid biting or use of claws." The steed nodded and turned to his team, giving a deep barking grunt. He turned back to the promoter as his team began slipping leather gloves over their hand and footpaws. Then they began securing muzzles that would have looked more at home in an insane asylum.
To the Humans, Wind made a similar requirement. "You will have to wear gloves as well. I do not wish to have you digging nails into the eyes of your competition, like in the last match..." The human nodded, but his team already had the lighter cloth gloves slipped on after their last match.
"Alright, we're going to play an abbreviated game, first one to five goals will win, the walls are fair play. No intentional kicking or scratching, and I will be issuing penalty kicks for any blatant violation of the rules. Now I trust you used the intermission to talk strategy, so let's get this game started..." The Kee'Awloo waved the two teams apart and moved down the center line to retrieve the ball, coming back to the center circle where the captain and second in command of the Human team, and the jackal and cheetah Kohanians stood at the ready for the opening kickoff.
Wind looked between the two teams, the Kohanians still working their intimidation angle, growling and snapping their teeth behind the muzzles, but it didn't seem to be phasing the Humans, who were in the zone.
The ball was dropped, and Wind quickly stepped out of the way of the ensuing fray, with the humans coming out with the ball. They weaved their way between the jackal and cheetah, and then started working their way towards the tiger and black leopard. With some fancy footwork, they were able to get past the agile cats, and had only to get past the hyenafemme for a shot on goal.
She did the best that she could against the two offensemen of the Humans, but her body was not made for speed, so they soon got by her and unleashed a ferocious scissorkick that sent the ball off the inside of one of the poles for a goal.
The humans celebrated, patting each other on the back, as the Kohanians regrouped, the jackal switching places with the hyena. Trotting back to the center circle, the cheetah and hyena exchanged nods, and then narrowed their eyes wickedly at the competition. Wind once again brought the ball out to center field for the drop, and the fray began anew.
This time, however, with the hyena's power, she dove forward, twisting in the air to take out the two humans, while the cheetah flipped the ball up onto his footpaw and launched it high over their heads, into the defensemen's position. Getting up off of the humans, the female started sprinting as hard as her powerful backlegs could take her.
She was not fast enough, and one of the humans got the ball near the curved wall that created the edge of the field on that end. The children and cubs all cheered wildly and waved their banners in support of the action, not knowing what was really going on, only knowing that it was fun to watch.
The human kicked the ball deeper into the curve, stopping the ball beneath his left foot and watching the oncoming Kohanians. When the cheetah and hyena seemed to be trying to follow his path, he nudged the ball to his right and tried to sprint out. He would have made it, too, if the Kohanians hadn't predicted the move.
The cheetah kept coming, dropping down on all fours to use the full advantage of his species speed, while the hyena broke off to the right of the goal. The human realized all too late that he had nowhere to go, as the hyena femme actually ran horizontally along the wall and wrapped her right paw under his right shoulder, the left mimicing the action when able. In a frightening move of sheer power, the male was lifted off his feet and thrown backwards about fifteen feet. The cheetah quickly shifted his weight downward into a slide, beneath the flying body, and hooked his foot around the ball to turn it back towards the field of play.
It had all happened so quickly, the other human couldn't have reacted, and the Kohanians had their first goal. Or would have. The whistle blew, and play stopped. Wind walked over to the thrown human and checked his pulse. Finding one, he turned to the hyena with a scowl.
"This is a warning, Spring Blossom. You could have killed him with that whiplash move. One more like that, and you will be out of the game, and your team will just have to fight against the uneven odds. The goal does not count, as the foul happened before the point was scored, and I will give the humans a penalty kick." Wind admonished, turning quickly and picking the ball up and walking to the far end of the field.
The four humans not playing defense walked the length of the field, while the shaken male took his place in front of the goal. This would be between him, and Dark Steed. The large equine didn't seem at all worried, or even shaken that he had already been scored on, but just narrowed his eyes, huffed noisily, and readied himself.
As soon as the ball was set down, the human darted at it, giving it a few nudges with his feet, working like he was sliding on ice. Back and forth he worked as he got nearer and nearer the goal. Making one last feignt, he tried to reverse the trajectory to the right and hook it back left, but Steed was just too quick, and with one large hand, he caught the ball out of the air, palming it as he smiled wickedly behind his own muzzle.
The crowd whooped and hollered at the excitement, afraid their home team would go down 2-0. Steed put the ball down on the ground and rested a hoof on it as the human players headed back down to their respective positions, and the Kohanians retook the field to join Steed.
The goalie stallion nudged the ball out to the jackal when all was reset, and the tall, lithe male began to kick the ball towards midfield. Reaching the edge of the oval, he wound back and kicked the ball as hard as he could towards the human goalie. This time, the hyena tried a new tactic, and as they ball sailed closer, she quickly dropped to one knee, and the cheetah, who had been behind her quickly sprinted forward, and with a mighty leap, and twisting in the air, he did an amazing backflip kick that caused the ball to drop like a comet, right past the goalie, and the score was tied.
The game continued like this for quite a time, each team trading amazing shots and moves. At one point one of the humans completely dropped the jackal with a crossover move from his left foot, to the right, and back again almost quicker than the jackal could follow, but his body shifted just enough that he slipped on the grass, and the human just popped the ball into the air for his team mate to head right past the large steed who had followed the ball to the right as well and couldn't get his bulk back in time.
After nearly two hours of back and forth scoring, trading the momentum, the humans pulled ahead and on an almost full field shot that caught a gust of wind and curved just enough, the game ended with a score of 5-3 in favor of the humans.
Both teams panted and gasped for air as sweat poured down their faces, but the human's record was still intact. They barely had enough excess energy to celebrate, but the crowd rushing the field did that for them, lifting the players up onto their shoulders, and as they sang and chanted their names, carried them off to the tavern for a post game drink. The players tried to protest, but they were too tired, and too lost in the fact that they had beaten the best team of Kohanians out there.
Dark Steed stood in the goal still, hands on his hips as he watched his team sulk over to the sidelines while the furless ones were carried off like heroes. Taking a deep breath, and reaching for the muzzle over his mouth and nose, he tore the offending precaution away and slammed it to the ground, roaring with anger. It was in this time that Wind walked up to him with hands hidden among the sleeves of his robe again, a smile on his face.
"You did the right thing, Steed. You made myself, and through that, your team, a lot of money today. You played well, as did the rest of your squad, and I know that it hurts to lose to them, but you know what you must do to restore your honor. You need not worry, they will get drunk, they will glut themselves on the spoils of the short term victory, but it is you who will win the war...They will be slow, and weak." The promoter said, reaching up to pat the stallion on the sweat soaked shoulder, a maneuver that could have cost him his hand.
The rest of the Dark Knights had put back on their robes and headed towards their camp on the outskirts of the villiage. There they would wash in the river, eat a meager meal, and prepare for their next bout. Steed on the other hand looked to the tavern door, just swinging shut after the celebrating party, and nodded to himself more than anyone.
He too grabbed his robe and slipped it over his body. It was a cool evening, so it wasn't unbareable to wear the garment, as he followed the party to the tavern and walked inside.
"You have much to celebrate this night, Furless Ones. Eat, drink, revel in your victory. You deserve it greatly as you proved that you were the better team out there on this day." The To'Yaree shouted above the din of the celebration. Many cheers rang out, as well as drunken comments slurred towards the Kohanian about his ancestors mating each other to keep his line alive.
Dark Steed licked his lips, picturing in his mind a thousand different ways to slaughter the man for his comments, but none did he act on. He just turned to the captain of the human team and pointed. "But I do exercise my right for a rematch now. I set the date for tomorrow. First person to three goals wins the true celebration. What say you?"
Already buzzed off of the Kohanian wine, the Captain turned and laughed. "I don't need to waste the talent of the rest of my team on the likes of you, Fluffy." The crowd burst into laughter, and the captain waved for silence as he continued. "Your team was nothing more than a bunch of inbred curs. I will face you and just one of them against my goalie and myself. Two on two. You pick your greatest player, and I will show all those gathered that you would be better off as slaves and pets."
Dark Steed grinned and nodded, turning for the door. He called over his shoulder without turning back, afraid that if he had to look at the gathered throngs of people and backstabbing Kohanians, he would cause a genocide that would end the summer festival.
"Then so be it. When the sun starts it's descent, we will settle this once and for all..."
"The Humans have won again!"
The crowd around, mostly made up of humans, or the random Kohanian who could afford a ticket to the day's event, cheered wildly. As the jackal raised his paws, the crowd fell silent.
"With this victory, the Humans have extended their record at Rai Sae Vall to a perfect 112 wins, and no loses. After such a humiliating display, is there ANYONE who dares challenge these fine sportsman?" The Kee'Awloo, a promoter of the sport obviously, asked, spinning slowly to take in the great crowd that surrounded the field of play.
There was a commotion at one side of the field as someone tried to get through. The Medics were carrying off the wounded from the last game, but it was not for them that this attention was requested. At first it started with a few people in the back of the crowd being bumped to the side, but as whoever it was neared the field's edge, their civility ran short, and people began being actually THROWN out of the way. Soon, the first row parted, and a great black stallion with white lines painted all over his bare chest, stood with eyes narrowed to the six humans standing at mid field, and the promoter staring with jaw agape at the display.
"Wind Catching Fallen Leaf, I wish to challenge the furless ones. I will prove to them that their victories have been nothing more than luck...My team is ready to show them what our people are made of." The stallion roared, spittle flying everywhere with his outrage.
The promoter slowly looked over his shoulder at the obviously intimidated humans. "What say you, Men? Will you accept the challenge of The Dread Steed?" His eyes twinkled, knowing full well that if a challenge was issued on the fields of Rai Sae Vall, there could be no denying the challenger. This was shown by the human team captain looking over his team and then turning back to Wind with a slow, nervous nod.
"It is settled then! After a brief intermission, the bidding will begin for the match between The Dread Knights, and the reigning champion Humans!" He raised his paws and quickly seemed to be whipping the crowd up into a frenzy. Everyone was excited about the bout, that is, except the humans on the field.
Wind Catching Fallen Leaf slowly walked away from midfield, towards the Captain of the Dread Knights, motioning for the taller beast to lean down so they may converse.
"I do not want them killed, do you understand me? They make us much in bets, and to have them win keeps the Furless Ones happy and not suspecting the true reason that we signed the peace treaty with them. Get this through your head, Steed, I will appeal to Her Majesty if any of those Humans are not able to play their next match. Also, I am entering them as the underdog for this match, meaning that you had BETTER make it good."
The stallion looked over at the Humans, huddled scared on the other side of the field. He snorted loudly and then nodded his understanding before standing back to his full height and moving back through the much more accomodating crowd to several black robed, and hooded, figures. When they all huddled around them, he scanned over the group, slamming two of the other, smaller, figure's heads together, causing hisses and growls to issue forth from the shadows of the hoods.
Thirty minutes had passed before Wind walked back out to the center of the playing field. He looked around the flat, grassy land, and then seemed to meet every gaze that was fixed upon him. In a voice that seemed to echo off anything possible, he announced that the betting for the match would now be beginning, with odds in favor of the Dread Knights to come out on top, five to one.
Bets began flying as gold coins, jewels, even clothing and accessories began being laid down in favor of the larger, stronger competitors. There were a few who took the long shot odds and put a bet on the Humans, but the majority had faith in the home planet stars.
After giving the people plenty of time to get in with their wagers, Wind waved his paws in the air. He knew full well that betting would keep going on until the final verdict was given, but this was a formality that needed to be heeded.
As the waving began, the humans came out and took their positions on the field. Two stood inside a large oval section in the center of the field, three more stood just outside the oval, and one went back to guard an area between two ten foot tall poles in the center of a large half circle of stone. They looked confident now, sure that they would be able to take their opponants. In their minds, they knew they didn't get to where they were by luck, that they were truely skilled at this game.
That faith, however, was shaken again when the crowd parted on the far side of the field, almost to the other goal, and down that aisle walked six hooded, robed figures, all with heads down chanting in some dark, ancient language. The procession made it's way to the halfway point between the goal, and midfield, and stopped, heads still bowed.
As one, all six members of the other team raised their heads, pulling back the hoods to show the faces of the Human's opponants. Three of them were Dy'Unnar, a black leopard, white tiger, and a spotted cat that could have been cheetah, or leopard. Two more were Kee'Awloo, a jackal and a hyena. And then the last of the group was the huge black stallion. All snarled menacingly and pulled off their robes, showing black breechs beneath, with no covering on the upper body of most, except the hyena who was a brute of a female, she wore a sort of sportsbra tanktop.
Wind waved each of the captains to him at the center of the circle, going over the rules and expectations while the rest of the Dread Knights took the robes to the sidelines and left them in the care of the Sha'Nai overseers.
"Alright, I want a good clean match. Steed, you know that your team will have to wear gloves and muzzles to avoid biting or use of claws." The steed nodded and turned to his team, giving a deep barking grunt. He turned back to the promoter as his team began slipping leather gloves over their hand and footpaws. Then they began securing muzzles that would have looked more at home in an insane asylum.
To the Humans, Wind made a similar requirement. "You will have to wear gloves as well. I do not wish to have you digging nails into the eyes of your competition, like in the last match..." The human nodded, but his team already had the lighter cloth gloves slipped on after their last match.
"Alright, we're going to play an abbreviated game, first one to five goals will win, the walls are fair play. No intentional kicking or scratching, and I will be issuing penalty kicks for any blatant violation of the rules. Now I trust you used the intermission to talk strategy, so let's get this game started..." The Kee'Awloo waved the two teams apart and moved down the center line to retrieve the ball, coming back to the center circle where the captain and second in command of the Human team, and the jackal and cheetah Kohanians stood at the ready for the opening kickoff.
Wind looked between the two teams, the Kohanians still working their intimidation angle, growling and snapping their teeth behind the muzzles, but it didn't seem to be phasing the Humans, who were in the zone.
The ball was dropped, and Wind quickly stepped out of the way of the ensuing fray, with the humans coming out with the ball. They weaved their way between the jackal and cheetah, and then started working their way towards the tiger and black leopard. With some fancy footwork, they were able to get past the agile cats, and had only to get past the hyenafemme for a shot on goal.
She did the best that she could against the two offensemen of the Humans, but her body was not made for speed, so they soon got by her and unleashed a ferocious scissorkick that sent the ball off the inside of one of the poles for a goal.
The humans celebrated, patting each other on the back, as the Kohanians regrouped, the jackal switching places with the hyena. Trotting back to the center circle, the cheetah and hyena exchanged nods, and then narrowed their eyes wickedly at the competition. Wind once again brought the ball out to center field for the drop, and the fray began anew.
This time, however, with the hyena's power, she dove forward, twisting in the air to take out the two humans, while the cheetah flipped the ball up onto his footpaw and launched it high over their heads, into the defensemen's position. Getting up off of the humans, the female started sprinting as hard as her powerful backlegs could take her.
She was not fast enough, and one of the humans got the ball near the curved wall that created the edge of the field on that end. The children and cubs all cheered wildly and waved their banners in support of the action, not knowing what was really going on, only knowing that it was fun to watch.
The human kicked the ball deeper into the curve, stopping the ball beneath his left foot and watching the oncoming Kohanians. When the cheetah and hyena seemed to be trying to follow his path, he nudged the ball to his right and tried to sprint out. He would have made it, too, if the Kohanians hadn't predicted the move.
The cheetah kept coming, dropping down on all fours to use the full advantage of his species speed, while the hyena broke off to the right of the goal. The human realized all too late that he had nowhere to go, as the hyena femme actually ran horizontally along the wall and wrapped her right paw under his right shoulder, the left mimicing the action when able. In a frightening move of sheer power, the male was lifted off his feet and thrown backwards about fifteen feet. The cheetah quickly shifted his weight downward into a slide, beneath the flying body, and hooked his foot around the ball to turn it back towards the field of play.
It had all happened so quickly, the other human couldn't have reacted, and the Kohanians had their first goal. Or would have. The whistle blew, and play stopped. Wind walked over to the thrown human and checked his pulse. Finding one, he turned to the hyena with a scowl.
"This is a warning, Spring Blossom. You could have killed him with that whiplash move. One more like that, and you will be out of the game, and your team will just have to fight against the uneven odds. The goal does not count, as the foul happened before the point was scored, and I will give the humans a penalty kick." Wind admonished, turning quickly and picking the ball up and walking to the far end of the field.
The four humans not playing defense walked the length of the field, while the shaken male took his place in front of the goal. This would be between him, and Dark Steed. The large equine didn't seem at all worried, or even shaken that he had already been scored on, but just narrowed his eyes, huffed noisily, and readied himself.
As soon as the ball was set down, the human darted at it, giving it a few nudges with his feet, working like he was sliding on ice. Back and forth he worked as he got nearer and nearer the goal. Making one last feignt, he tried to reverse the trajectory to the right and hook it back left, but Steed was just too quick, and with one large hand, he caught the ball out of the air, palming it as he smiled wickedly behind his own muzzle.
The crowd whooped and hollered at the excitement, afraid their home team would go down 2-0. Steed put the ball down on the ground and rested a hoof on it as the human players headed back down to their respective positions, and the Kohanians retook the field to join Steed.
The goalie stallion nudged the ball out to the jackal when all was reset, and the tall, lithe male began to kick the ball towards midfield. Reaching the edge of the oval, he wound back and kicked the ball as hard as he could towards the human goalie. This time, the hyena tried a new tactic, and as they ball sailed closer, she quickly dropped to one knee, and the cheetah, who had been behind her quickly sprinted forward, and with a mighty leap, and twisting in the air, he did an amazing backflip kick that caused the ball to drop like a comet, right past the goalie, and the score was tied.
The game continued like this for quite a time, each team trading amazing shots and moves. At one point one of the humans completely dropped the jackal with a crossover move from his left foot, to the right, and back again almost quicker than the jackal could follow, but his body shifted just enough that he slipped on the grass, and the human just popped the ball into the air for his team mate to head right past the large steed who had followed the ball to the right as well and couldn't get his bulk back in time.
After nearly two hours of back and forth scoring, trading the momentum, the humans pulled ahead and on an almost full field shot that caught a gust of wind and curved just enough, the game ended with a score of 5-3 in favor of the humans.
Both teams panted and gasped for air as sweat poured down their faces, but the human's record was still intact. They barely had enough excess energy to celebrate, but the crowd rushing the field did that for them, lifting the players up onto their shoulders, and as they sang and chanted their names, carried them off to the tavern for a post game drink. The players tried to protest, but they were too tired, and too lost in the fact that they had beaten the best team of Kohanians out there.
Dark Steed stood in the goal still, hands on his hips as he watched his team sulk over to the sidelines while the furless ones were carried off like heroes. Taking a deep breath, and reaching for the muzzle over his mouth and nose, he tore the offending precaution away and slammed it to the ground, roaring with anger. It was in this time that Wind walked up to him with hands hidden among the sleeves of his robe again, a smile on his face.
"You did the right thing, Steed. You made myself, and through that, your team, a lot of money today. You played well, as did the rest of your squad, and I know that it hurts to lose to them, but you know what you must do to restore your honor. You need not worry, they will get drunk, they will glut themselves on the spoils of the short term victory, but it is you who will win the war...They will be slow, and weak." The promoter said, reaching up to pat the stallion on the sweat soaked shoulder, a maneuver that could have cost him his hand.
The rest of the Dark Knights had put back on their robes and headed towards their camp on the outskirts of the villiage. There they would wash in the river, eat a meager meal, and prepare for their next bout. Steed on the other hand looked to the tavern door, just swinging shut after the celebrating party, and nodded to himself more than anyone.
He too grabbed his robe and slipped it over his body. It was a cool evening, so it wasn't unbareable to wear the garment, as he followed the party to the tavern and walked inside.
"You have much to celebrate this night, Furless Ones. Eat, drink, revel in your victory. You deserve it greatly as you proved that you were the better team out there on this day." The To'Yaree shouted above the din of the celebration. Many cheers rang out, as well as drunken comments slurred towards the Kohanian about his ancestors mating each other to keep his line alive.
Dark Steed licked his lips, picturing in his mind a thousand different ways to slaughter the man for his comments, but none did he act on. He just turned to the captain of the human team and pointed. "But I do exercise my right for a rematch now. I set the date for tomorrow. First person to three goals wins the true celebration. What say you?"
Already buzzed off of the Kohanian wine, the Captain turned and laughed. "I don't need to waste the talent of the rest of my team on the likes of you, Fluffy." The crowd burst into laughter, and the captain waved for silence as he continued. "Your team was nothing more than a bunch of inbred curs. I will face you and just one of them against my goalie and myself. Two on two. You pick your greatest player, and I will show all those gathered that you would be better off as slaves and pets."
Dark Steed grinned and nodded, turning for the door. He called over his shoulder without turning back, afraid that if he had to look at the gathered throngs of people and backstabbing Kohanians, he would cause a genocide that would end the summer festival.
"Then so be it. When the sun starts it's descent, we will settle this once and for all..."