By the end of the day, Liri had defeated nearly one-quarter of the entire tribe.
Her posturing had affected more people than she thought. Still, she'd defeated them all, fairly easily, and now, as the final opponent went down, all eyes were on her.
Including, of course, Arisa's, who had wiped her tears away and watched it all in awe. The admiration she was showing on her face was enough to make Liri blush, but the ven tried her hardest to maintain a dominant exterior all the way up until the end.
The performance wasn't over just yet.
Once everything was said and done, she finally asked:
"CAN I SPEAK NOW!? DOES ANYONE ELSE WANT THEIR BUTT KICKED? NO? OKAY!"
[Holy shit, it's over. I was starting to feel bad for these people. My knuckles are sore.]
Inhaling sharply, Liri went over the words she'd thought of and, as drasen gathered around her, she walked over to Arisa, gestured at her, and said:
"You fools value strength, do you not? But what you don't know is that there are a lot of different kinds of strength out there! Arisa, here, has strength of spirit! Strength of will! Courage and commitment! I value that far more than how hard you can punch something. It is…"
[This is gonna be embarrassing to say, but, whatever. Push on through. Do it for her.]
"… It is for that reason that I hereby take Arisa as my lover!"
Gasps! Shock and awe spread throughout the tribe!
The surprise that went through the crowd was understandable. The stunned expression that dawned on Arisa's face in particular, however, was… Well, Liri could feel her own face heating up.
"She has a kind of strength that I have not seen from any other here! And so, I have determined that she is the most valuable among you. So, make no mistake, it isn't that I'm allowing her to have me, but that she is a diamond I want all for myself!"
Liri had to pry her eyes away from Arisa, who was tearing up as she spoke. Thankfully, she was just about done.
"Is that understood? Well then, goodbye."
With that said, she went over to Arisa and extended her hand. Arisa took it and stood up, and the two of them looked into each other's eyes.
The height gap made it difficult, but, as she looked up at the rather large woman, Liri tilted her head and winked.
"Told you I had your back," Liri whispered with a smile.
Arisa sniffled and nodded before, finally, Liri walked away, with her declared lover still holding her hand.
---
"I… heard about what happened," Arisa's father said as Liri and the drasen went back to the woman's home. "That was some speech you gave."
"Has word traveled around the tribe that fast?"
"This is not too big a place, Liri," Arisa's father said with a chuckle. "Half the tribe heard that from their homes. Did…" He paused, his smile fading as he looked back at Liri with slightly cautious eyes. "Did you mean what you said?"
"I meant every word," Liri responded. "I am… I am fond of your daughter. It's clear to me that, ehm, I see value in her that those around her do not."
"Is that so?" Arisa's father paced from side to side for a moment. Arisa's mother stood there with crossed arms and a pensive expression on her face, her black lips pursed, and her eyes cast low. "In that case, I suppose I should make good on our arrangement," he said, turning to Arisa.
"But… I lost," Arisa responded, dejected.
Her father's voice then took a slight warmth to it that had been amiss up until now. Liri was just as shocked to hear it as Arisa was.
"The Illian Hunt is about growth, my child. It is simply a test meant to measure whether you have the strength to declare yourself an adult. It would seem that, unfortunately, I missed the growth happening within you. For that," he stepped toward Liri, "I must thank you. It is due to you that I know I may call my daughter a grown woman. Again, thank you."
"… I had nothing to do with it," Liri replied. "Your daughter is awesome. That's all."
"Awe…some?" He asked, confused while his wife stepped forward.
"Will you be marrying her?"
The direct nature of that question caught Liri so off-guard she just about recoiled.
"W-What?"
The woman did not let up, however.
"You proclaimed our daughter's strength to the tribe in its entirety. There will likely be many marriage offers if you do not stake your claim now. So, will you?"
"My love," Arisa's father told the woman, "surely it will take a few days for these offers to come through. Give them time. Besides, I believe Arisa said you would not be with us for long, right?"
Before Liri could answer that question, Arisa stepped forward.
"Actually," Arisa spoke up, "I wanted to talk to you about that." She subtly glanced at her parents. "In private. May we head to my room?"
"Oh, uh, sure," Liri replied.
"Excuse us."
The two of them left what could loosely be called the hut's kitchen and went to Arisa's bedroom. Arisa closed the wooden door behind them and remained silent for a time, keeping her back to Liri before asking:
"You truly meant all of that?"
It was likely the quietest Liri had heard this woman sound so far.
"Um… Well, to an extent," Liri replied, swallowing. "I mean… I really do think you're nice. And… You, uhm, appeal to me in a way that I don't think your tribe sees."
"But, am I to be your lover, I mean?" Arisa asked, half-turning toward her.
"I…"
Liri quickly realized that this was it.
This was the opportunity she needed, not just to complete the requirements that Alteria had laid out for her, but to break out of her box and be a little more comfortable with the idea of sleeping around. She'd been a virgin all her life, and in her previous life, but now, that needed to change.
"Yes," Liri replied through a tight throat. "I don't know about marriage and all, but-"
She was not allowed to finish that sentence as Arisa spun, took her by the waist, and embraced her.
Then, just as quickly, she shoved her onto the straw bed behind her.
Arisa mounted Liri then, smiling down at her and saying:
"That's all I needed to hear."