On the first floor of the arena, the small crowd of influential locals gave much more restrained applause when Nyrielle and Ashlynn made their entrance. There was a round of soft applause and a scattering of shouts from former champions of the arena, but there were no spontaneous acts of kneeling or other demonstrations of subservience from this crowd.
"Teacher, our reunion last night was too brief," High Lady Erna said as she slid gracefully across the stone floor to greet Nyrielle.
"Little Snake, you don't need to call me teacher anymore," the powerful vampire said, momentarily leaving Ashlynn's side to embrace her former student. "We're old friends now, each with our own territories to rule."
