Severus awoke to excruciating pain. His left shoulder burned with a fire that Severus couldn't put out. He moaned, and a cool hand touched his mangled shoulder. The fire eased a little, so Severus slowly opened his eyes. One of the Olander healers smiled at him.
"Welcome back, soldier," she said. Severus smiled back. Then, reality set in, and he bolted upright. The fight was over; the ring was clear, and the rest of the Regiment was sitting around, talking. John and Silvermane stood to the side, talking quietly, while Max watched them with furious eyes. He saw Severus was awake and left, trotting over to the big Dog.
"How yah feel, laddo?" he said, kneeling. Severus tried to move his shoulder and gave a choked grunt as spasms of pain wove through him. The healer laid another cool hand, and the torment eased again.
Easy,' the she Olander warned. "Your shoulder only has some first-aid healing. It still needs some treatment back at the medic's barracks."
"I've had worse," Severus ground out, which was true: he could remember when he had been cornered by a whole street gang and launched himself out the third-floor window. Running away with a broken leg, a broken arm, and multiple broken ribs had been the worst. This was a close second, however. He glanced back over to John and Silvermane, who were now watching him.
Silvermane sneered, and Severus felt his frustration bubble.
"I guess | lost," he mumbled darkly.
Max shrugged. "Yah went down fightin'" he reassured Severus. "Evahyone applauded yah guts." "But | still lost," Severus said glumly.
Max's ears wilted. "Aye. Yah lost." Severus looked down at his feet, humiliated and depressed. He had wanted so badly to win, to prove himself to these deadly warriors, but instead he just made a fool of himself. Max sighed and nudged him.
"Cum on," the hare said gently. "Thar's still one fight left." Severus accepted a hand up, his curiosity distracting his depression.
"Who's?"
Max gave him an excited grin. "John's."
Severus's heart leaped inside him, and he eagerly followed Max into the seats as John stepped forward into the arena's ring. Severus realized that not just Regiment members were sitting in; regular troops had lined the outskirts, and even some Centiin their burnished brass-plated armor were dotted throughout. I guess seeing a Commander like John fight isn't a regular thing, even in the imperial Army, Severus thought to himself. He peered down to see John's opponent, and his heart dropped into his stomach. The massive Bear he had seen on his first day stood opposite of John, snuffling and growling. He towered far over the young Olander, who did not seem fazed in the least by his opponent. Severus was impressed. He'd've been terrified to fight something like that.
"Tha' beast is ehnormous!" Max whispered. "How ken John evan think 'a fightin' sumin' like tha'?!"
"I guess with that," Severus whispered back and pointed to John's weapon. It was a massive, wooden great-sword that stood taller than John. The Olander balanced it over his shoulder by just the handle with one hand slung over the pommel lazily. He grinned at the Bear and bowed low and sweepingly. The Bear nodded in reply. Gervasius stepped forward as the mediator.
"Ready?" he called. John nodded and flicked the handle, causing the huge blade to suddenly pirouette through the air and fall into his waiting hands. As he caught it, he slid forward into a ready stance, the wooden blade leveled at the Bear. The Bear, caught off-guard, hesitated and then nodded.
"Begin!" Gervasius roared. The Bear leapt forward with a bellow and swiped hard with his paw. But John wasn't there. Severus's eyes darted around. Where was he?
"There!" an Olander cried, pointing up. Everyone gasped to see John twirling in midair. The Bear looked up in time to see John plummeting towards him, a mere streak of brown against the moonlit sky. There was a sharp crack, and the Bear grunted in pain. John skidded beside him, wielding the massive wooden sword like it was a twig. They danced around and around, the Bear swatting furiously with huge strikes and charges that made Severus's fur stand on end; however, nothing seemed to touch John. More impacts split the air, and Severus could now see John slamming the wooden sword hard across multiple vital spots. He imagined John holding a real sword instead of a wood one and shivered.
Finally, the Bear stumbled, tongue lolling and gasping for breath. John was on him in an instant, and a steady beat of strikes filled the arena. The Bear's body recoiled at each strike until his head snapped up. John was suddenly airborne, and with a cry he slammed his sword down on the crown of the Bear's skull. There was the sound of splintering wood, and then the Bear tumbled forward, completely senseless, with John landing with a soft thump. The Olander wasn't even winded.
For a moment, there was silence. The next, raucous cheers rang out. The audience streamed out of their seats as John tossed aside his broken sword and turned to help the Bear up. Already, the creature was trying to rise, but he stumbled like a drunken beast. Several of the audience grasped his paws and helped steady him. Severus and Max watched it all from their seats, too astonished to move. At last, Max clapped Severus on the shoulder.
"Tis ah great sight," the hare declared. "Trooly sumtin' wondahful. Ah do buhlieve tha' John could win any battle wit' tha' kend o' stren'th." He got up and dusted off his skirt before walking downhill to join the others. Severus stayed where he was, watching the Olander. He thought of his first encounter with John and how John had made him feel. Someone this strong wanted me to join with him? Severus's heart swelled. He couldn't let John down. He wouldn't.
The next morning, all the Regiment gathered around the board as an Olander soldier rearranged the plagues and marked down their scores with chalk. Severus was one of the last to join the group, his stomach twisted in knots. He heard whoops of excitement and groans of disappointment. Finally, his curiosity could take no more, and he went over and joined the group. He read:
RANKINGS;
1. John, COMMANDER--100
2. Maryam, Lt. COMMANDER--95
3. Gervasius, Lt. COMMANDER--92
4. Claudius, Lt. COMMANDER--88
5. Malikah--_ (honorary)
6. Boris--86
7. Silvermane--83
8. Regis--74
9. Kris--71
10.Robert 70
11. Horus 65
12. Max--61
13. Bryce--52
14. Mikhail--45
15. Severus--43
16. Leo--41
17. Roshni--38
18. Lizard--33
19. Icefire--0
He felt his heart sink. While it was nice that he had moved up in the ranks, he had wanted to keep more pace with Max and Regis. Regis, however, was in the top ten, and Max wasn't far behind. He clenched his fists. Severus promised himself that he would work even harder just as his shoulder was tapped.
"Nah bad, me laddo!" Max praised. Severus gave him a half hearted chuckle.
"Not as good as you, I'm afraid," Severus countered. Max shrugged, grinning widely.
"Tis nah much aboot it," the hare insisted. "Ah have experience wit' fightin' 'n such from meh 'omeland. Our baybies are taught 'ow tah scrap from birth." He jerked his head at the last name. "Who do yeh expect tha' Icefire is?"
"One of the last of the first batch of recruits," said a cheerful voice behind them, making them both jump. They turned to find John beaming at them. "Happy with your scores?" Severus's ears wilted, and he looked away guiltily. "Not particularly, sir," he muttered.
John's grin grew wider. "Good. I want to see more hunger from you in particular, Severus. I think the two of you have great promise." The two of them straightened up, bolstered by the unexpected praise. John clapped them both on the shoulder and slid through, talking to some of the others as he did. As Severus watched him, there was a snicker behind him. He turned and felt his mood sour at the sight of Silvermane leering.
"Well done, boys," he snickered. "Still no match for me, though. Perhaps Lady Maryam will lick your wounds, make 'em feel better." Severus took a step toward him, snarling, with Max just a pace behind. They paused when two others moved to join Silvermane. One was a Dalmatian-type Dog, with pale skin and black freckles that mimicked the spots he was supposed to have. He had pale blonde hair that was almost white and dark eyes the color of freshly-dug soil. The other was Kris, the Bear that Gervasius had defeated yesterday. He was obviously from the Grizzly family, judging by his brown fur and long snout, but his fur was lighter than a normal Grizzly, an almost peanut-colored tan. He was tall and well-built. Silvermane grinned nastily. "This is Bryce and Kris," he said. "Say hello to the underclassmen, boys." "Hello, snot," Kris growled, sounding irritated.
"Hullo," Bryce said quietly.
Severus hesitated. He so dearly wanted to wipe the smug look off Silvermane's maw, but the yesterday's embarrassment flashed through his mind. The other two had scored higher than him, which probably meant they were stronger. So instead, he backed off. Silvermane's leer grew.
"That's right, punk," he taunted. "Just follow our orders, and you'll do fine. Probably." Severus's vision went red, but he choked it down. /t's net worth it, he thought to himself as he marched away, ears ringing with Silvermane's guffaws. He felt himself flush with shame, but he couldn't see a better way.
Max made a vulgar hand sign to the three and followed after Severus, who was striding determinedly toward the cooks. "Why nah give tha' brainless sack o' moldy bones a taste o' sum proper thumpin'?" he grumbled. Severus shrugged, a bitter taste still in his mouth and a angry ringing still in his ears, as he wordlessly accepted a bowl of porridge and a plate of two sausages and eggs. He flopped down on a nearby table. Max sat opposite of him.
"Not worth it," Severus mumbled through a spoonful of porridge. He was about to go on when movement caught his eye.
"Mind if i join you?" Regis asked softly. Severus stared at him for a moment before a grin spread across his face. He nodded as Max chimed in, "Course, laddybuck! A roight friend's always wehlcum at ahr table." Regis smiled at that and sat. The three continued to eat when others appeared at their table. Severus sighed. Today was the day for visitors, apparently. He looked up and saw that three more were now standing by him sheepishly: Leo the Bullfrog that Regis had fought and defeated, a tall she Cat, and the biggest Lizard Severus had ever seen. The she Cat was tall and muscular. Where Maryam was slim and curvy, this Cat was broad shouldered and well built. Her hair that was visible beneath a beige headwrap was fiery orange with streaks of red in it, a tabby for sure, and she had a round, plump face that seemed to naturally fill with a broad smile. Her eyes, however, were an odd but beautiful honey color that sparkled and gleamed like polished gold.
The Lizard was a different creature entirely, and Severus could've sworn he was a dragon if he had wings. He was huge, coming to Severus's middle while on all fours and stretching out longer than the Dog was tall. He had beady eyes that darted back and forth, and long, razor sharp talons protruded from each of his toes. A long, trunk like tail whipped behind him. He was an intimidating creature that was made slightly comical due to the fact that the poor cook had had to balance the Lizard's plate of red, raw meat on top of his head.
Leo stepped forward, croaking to clear his throat. "Perhaps we could join you as well?" he asked in a meek voice. The she-Cat nodded eagerly, glancing hopefully between the three seated. The Lizard flicked out his tongue and blinked. Severus glanced over to his friends. Max was beaming, absolutely brimming with both excitement and happiness. Regis simply shrugged, indifferent.
"I don't see why not," Severus said.
"Oh, thank you!" Leo cried, bobbing his bulbous head in a makeshift bow. He waddled over to sit next to Max and eagerly started to eat. The Lizard slithered forward and tilted his head. His plate clanked onto the table, and he began snapping up pieces with rows of needle-like teeth. The she Cat squeezed in next to Severus, blushing fiercely the whole time. Every time he tried to make eye contact with her, she quickly looked away, red and flustered. It made Severus awkward as well, so he returned to eating his
porridge. "ni," he heard. He looked over at the Cat, who looked severely embarassed.
"Pardon?" he said. She swallowed hard and tried to speak, but all that came out was a tiny squeak.
"Forgive her," Leo intervened. "She's horribly shy." He patted her hand with one of his webbed ones and gave her a sympathetic smile. She nodded her thanks. "Her name is Roshni, and! am Leo. And this is...." He trailed off, looking oddly at the Lizard. Asif on cue, the Lizard swallowed his food and issued a strange noise.
"Liiiiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaard."
He tapped a long claw to his chest and said it again. Severus stared at Lizard. Maybe that's his name? he thought. He put a hand to his chest. "Severus," he said slowly. Lizard nodded solemnly, tapped his own chest, and repeated it.
"Liiiiiiiizzzzzzzzzaaaaaaaaaard."
"Well, then gud tah meet yah, Lizahrd, sah!" Max said lively, slapping the reptile on the back. He immediately let out a screech. "Yeowch!! Bloody flames o' death, this lad's hide's tougher'n ah suit ah armah!! Wotcha eat, sah? Iron?!" Lizard's lips split open and widened, gaping to reveal his row of gleaming needle teeth. With a start, Severus realized he was trying to smile. "Rererrererrevevrerrrraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaabbiiiiiitiliiiiiiiiiit," Lizard hissed cheerily. Then he started to make a strange hiccupping noise. The whole table grew still. Max went pale, and he shakily backed away. Before he could get too far, though, Regis reached over and grabbed his wrist, shaking.
"Max, stay," Regis choked out.
Max shot him a nervous look. "Why?!" he asked hoarsely. "Bloody reptile wants tah eat meh!"
Regis shook his head. He was grinning and red. "Because he's laughing," the Dog replied. Lizard nodded rapidly and continued hiccupping.
Severus smiled and finished his porridge with his new friends. Then it was off to training.