"Not really," I answered, "Which fight do you think Ethan will want me to see more?"
"The one against his brother," Savannah answered without hesitation.
"Then I'll go back to the room for a bit," I stood up, "And come back for the real fight."
I focused on my connection with Ethan.
{Ethan} I sent out mentally as I slowly started walking {I'm going back to the room for a bit. I don't have enough time to maintain my transformation for both fights, and since I'm sure you'll crush Baron I think you'll want me to be there for the more important fight.}
It was a long mental message compared to usual so I made sure to send each word with a cautious amount of slowness. Ethan sent back the equivalent of a mental nod. I picked up my pace on my way to the hotel room. The fight would start in about five minutes so I needed to hurry back or I'd miss the opening minutes of the fight. I couldn't not be there, and miss the fight.
I lost track of time in my rush to get out when everyone else was in a rush to get in. As soon as I got clear of the crowds I broke into a full sprinting run. Startling a few people as I rushed past them. There weren't many people there to startle so all I got was a few heys, and watch its. Nothing I had to worry about too much.
I slammed my way into the elevator, and clicked the button way more times than necessary. Rushing out of the elevator as soon as it got to my floor, and heading to my room as fast as I could. Stopping only to open my door before turning the hollo screen on, and then slamming the door shut. Then I pulled my clothes off, and switched forms while trying to watch the fight. It was all so very awkward, and I was glad there was nobody there to see it.
Made me wish for those clothes the wolves were helping me make. Again. I relaxed, and focused on the fight once the awkwardness of it faded enough. I smiled when I realized that Ethan was mostly just toying with Baron during the first few minutes. Leaving openings for Baron to get in close only to toss him back to where he started when he did manage to get close.
"Go on Ethan," My muscles coiled as if I were a cat ready to pounce, "Get him."
The tide of the fight turned suddenly. Swaying so that the fight was completely in Ethan's favor. Ethan stopped letting Baron get close anymore, and the debris he was throwing at him started progressively getting bigger. At first all it did was irritate Baron, but when the debris got to the size of basketballs he started to look hurt. Ethan didn't stop there.
He increased the size even further. Around beach ball size. Now Baron was starting to look desperate. He couldn't harden enough to handle that much force. Ethan stepped it up even further, and started using two chunks the size of beach balls.
Now he couldn't defend properly anymore. He was taking a one sided beating. He refused to go down. Taking hit after hit. Kind of admirable to watch actually.
I prowled a little closer to the screen.
"Come on Ethan," I flicked my tail in excitement, "I got my turn to knock him out. Now its you're turn."
Ethan threw both balls at him at once from two different directions. One aimed at his head. The other aimed lower. Baron naturally saw, and defended against the one headed for his head first. Only to get blindsided from below, and behind.
I could tell they were broken from the angles they were at afterward.
"He's not getting up from that one," I stopped myself from jumping excitedly when I remembered I was inside, "Nice going Ethan."
I'd be able to jump for joy once I was out there with him. Plus the next fight would impact Ethan way more then this one. I hoped that this next fight would help him get out of his rut. Maybe beating the brother that used to beat him would help him a little. I flopped on my side, and started relaxing my tense muscles.
They looked Ethan over, and then announced a one hour break rest break. Then they started discussing the implications of a mage vs ability user fight. How a mage vs ability user fight might turn out on the battlefield. They had no idea how mages fought so I dismissed most of their information as inaccurate. I still listened to what they were saying out of curiosity.
I listened to them talk mostly nonsense for about forty-five minutes before switching back to my human form, and getting dressed. They probably would have had a longer rest time if Ethan had actually gotten hurt, but since Ethan didn't get hurt they were able to continue sooner than normal. I sat back down in the spot Savannah had saved for me. I only had to wait about five minutes before Ethan was let out onto the arena floor. I looked back up to scan the crowd again because the mana signatures hadn't moved at all.
Now I could see Ethan's brother heading down between the rows of seats. I was slightly confused by the route he was taking, but the look on his face alone was enough for me to hate him. Superiority, anger, and disdain. How could he look at his younger brother like that? Then again, how could he beat his brother like he'd done in the past?
He used a whirlwind around his feet to propel himself up, and over the metal mesh that kept people from touching the barrier. The barrier opened up for him as he dropped back down to the ground. Taking his place on the other side of the arena, and waiting for the match to start. My hands clenched the armrests of the chair I was sitting on so hard that they broke as I was flooded with Ethan's fear, regret, and a deep seething rage. My breathing picked up, but I kept my eyes open.
I told Ethan I would watch. Even if my eyes changed from the intense flood of emotions I wouldn't look away. There wasn't much risk of getting noticed since I wouldn't be the only one with my eyes glued on the fight. I focused on stuffing the rage down. I could handle the other two without giving away much.