A shiver rippled through Vallum's toned muscles. He rubbed his hands together, preparing himself for the fight that was about to take place. He crouched down and put his hands on the ground. The air was tense, and the audience was waiting with bated breath. He looked up at his opponents, still in his crouched position. Stalking toward him was a group of lions: a male and three females. He took a deep breath with his eyes closed and felt the loose sandy ground of the arena on his hands. The lion roared and he stood up, staring the creature down while lionesses were circling around him.
He waited until the lionesses were at the furthest point away from the lion and made his move. With a roar of his own, Vallum charged the lion like a bull. The beasts fluid muscles tensed and waited for Vallum to get into range. It reared up on its hind legs and showed its front paws, but Vallum took this as an opportunity to launch himself into the exposed torso. The cat's claws came down on his back, but the momentum of his charge brought them both crashing to the ground. Vallum ignored the pain and used his closeness to batter the lion's underside with his sledgehammer punches. He felt several bones crack under his blows, but his waylay was cut short when he was pounced on by a lioness. She made contact and the two of them rolled on the ground. Her claws latched onto his shoulders, and left gashes pouring blood.
He thrust his hands into the paws to detach them and shoved the lioness back. When he got to his feet, he assessed the situation. The lion was still not getting up, and the remaining two lionesses were watching his struggle from afar. Now that he was back on his feet, the two lionesses were approaching him. The blood pouring from his shoulder trailed down and made his arms and hands slippery. He slowly backed away and the lioness that had tackled him got back to her feet.
'I have to end this quickly, before I lose my strength from blood loss.' Vallum thought, already feeling lightheaded.
He stopped backing up. The first one to attack was the same lioness that tackled him. She launched herself at him and he repeated the maneuver he used with the tiger. He sidestepped and wrapped his arms around the attacker. However, unlike with the tiger, there was more than one opponent. A second lioness came at him and he didn't have the ability to dodge. With no other option, he used the animal in his arms to intercept the attack. He threw the lioness in his arms at the one flying toward him and they both fell to the ground. Seizing the moment, Vallum was on the two of them in an instant. He threw blow after crippling blow at the two creatures on the ground. Once again, he focused too much on the creatures in front of him, allowing the third lioness to sink her teeth into his left arm. Vallum stumbled back, his vision blackening. The roar of the crowd was a distant buzz, like a bug that never leaves. He fell to his butt and brought his free hand to the lioness's face. Using what strength, he had left, he shoved his fingers into the eyes of the beast. The great cat howled in pain and released his arm from its jaws. He fell back on the ground. With his blinking vision, Vallum raised his head and saw that the blind lioness was the last enemy standing. The image of Kenra smiling at him and flexing her arm entered his mind.
'If I don't win this, then she will have to wait even longer.' Vallum thought as he crawled over and latched on to the leg of the agonizing lioness. He hugged it tight and curled his body, causing the leg to snap. The lioness fell and he rose to his feet. Vallum raised his hand in victory, but the crowd kept on getting quieter until the noise was non-existent. His world got darker and darker, but he shuffled off the battlefield on his own power: he was victorious.
The next hours were a blur. He was bandaged and given foul tasting medicine, but before he knew it, he was back in his small room. He didn't have a great appetite after the fight, but he slowly started to eat the food that he was given. It was the biggest meal that he had received, but he didn't remember the crowd at all from the fight. The one thought on his mind after the fight was how he would be able to fight Bruce in the state he was in, but much to his relief he wouldn't have to. He was told that he would be given a week to recover from the wounds of this fight before having to step into the ring with the giant bull. He finished his meal and then laid down. Before he could fall asleep, his mind played memories for him.
"Huuup!" Kenra shouted as she lifted the water barrel over her head. They were ten years old. The day's work was over and Kenra told Vallum that she had something to show him.
"Hah! You can lift it, Kay. I have only been able to do that for a month!"
"That isn't even what I wanted to show you, Val." She giggled, "Follow me." She said excitedly.
Vallum followed the girl as she led him to a nearby hill.
"You stay here at the bottom, Val. I am going up to the top." She ran up to the top of the hill with her water bucket. "Watch!" She poured the barrel in a rut at the top of the hill, and it cascaded down the hill like a small river, branching off in some places.
"Woah! That is so awesome, Kay!"
"Isn't it, Val? I saw this happen when it was raining one time, and I figured out I could make it happen with a with water from the well." The girl ran down the hill to stand beside Vallum as the last of the water trickled down the hill.
The memory faded and sent warmness through Vallum as he dozed off.