"Do this right and I'll take you out of the pits for a week."
Lani's mouth twisted sourly as her master's words replayed in her head. She dragged her feet in the tunnel, wanting to put off the fight as long as she could. But then, if she won this she'd be out of the pits, at least for a while.
A growl rose up in her chest and she scowled at nothing and everything. How had this become her life?
Then she was stepping into the pit and she forced all other thoughts from her mind, looking around the arena for her opponent. When she found her, her eyes widened and she swore softly in her native tongue.
A child, she was going to fight a child. Alright, that wasn't entirely fair- the girl looked to be only a few years younger than she was herself. But she could tell just from the way she held herself, from the determined spark in her eyes, that she'd never fought in a match like this before.
And as far as Lani was concerned that just about made her a child.
She crossed to the center of the arena, waiting for a signal to begin, hating the feeling of eyes all over her. Meeting her opponent's eyes, she hissed quietly, "You don't want to do this, chiana." It was her native word for "little girl". "Trust me. Throw the fight."
She didn't really expect the other woman to heed her warning, but at least she'd tried.