A Lesson in Aristocracy

V - Pilot

Arden tried not to pay too much attention to the gore and blood of the fight. He'd seen a million of these, and he still never got used to the carnage.

Hyarith was winning - not easily, as evidenced by the multiple lashes that covered his arms, but he was still winning. And clearly enjoying the fight, too - while the Arakfi seemed all but terrified, Hyarith was wearing a huge grin on his face. Arden sighed, narrowing his eyes as Hyarith's wings began to beat - he hadn't taken off the entire fight, and Arden had assumed he didn't intend to.

The Lozenfi's laugh echoed through the arena as he flew around in a circle, the chain that connected to his collar going taught as he did so. The crowd erupted in cheers, this time all for Hyarith and none for Arden. Which was understandable - he'd been letting the Lozenfi do its own thing the whole time. Usually he would command them at least a bit during the show, but this time he felt much too sick - and Hyarith seemed to be putting enough of a show on himself. He even landed on the bars protecting the crowd from flying Lozenfi and began yelling something.

Arden snapped to attention, realizing that was not, in fact, something he was supposed to do.

"Down!" He yelled, the Arakfi scrambling for the chain and yanking Hyarith by the neck. The Lozenfi was caught off guard, him tumbling to the ground with the sound of the audience's disappointment.

Arden bit his lip as the Arakfi sank his teeth into Hyarith's shoulder, biting only harder when one of the Arakfi's unreasonably sharp legs dug into Hyarith's back.

Hyarith roared, tossing the Arakfi off of him and into the ground. The man went out on impact, each of their legs curling up. Arden knew he wasn't dead - there was no way, he had to be just unconscious. But Hyarith seemed to have no interest in finishing the job, instead taking off into flight once more and latching onto the bars right in front of the king.

"Down!" Arden yelled again, Hyarith ignoring him.

Arden cursed under his breath - he should've known this would happen. Hyarith wasn't trained. He was essentially a wild animal, for heavens sake.

The Handler gripped the balcony tighter, clearing his throat and screaming "Down, Hyarith! Now!"

At this, the crowd's cheers turned to murmurs of confusion. The almost jovial air began to melt away, replaced by apprehension as silence began to draw over the arena.

The quiet made Hyarith's screams turn into words.

"-I'll carve you to pieces! You're a fucking monster, you hear me? Let him go! LET HIM GO!"

Arden watched as Hyarith slammed into the bars again, this time reaching through with his arms to scratch at the king. He realized then that Hyarith wasn't going to listen to him; he was going to have to get in there.

Arden gulped, looking down at the sand and closing his eyes before vaulting into the arena. The crowd erupted in cheers once more at that, Arden's heart already beginning to race as his boots dug into the sand and he ran forward. He grabbed the chain, tearing Hyarith down like the Arakfi had done before. Hyarith yelled as he careened onto the ground, Arden quickly jumping on him and wrapping his arms around the beast's neck.

"What the hell are you doing?! You're going to get us both in deep shit! Finish off that Arakfi and be done with it!" He seethed into Hyarith's ear.

Arden's heart dropped when he realized Hyarith's wings had began to beat again, pure terror filling his face when the Lozenfi forced himself into the air. He was dangling off of them, quickly scrambling to wrap his legs around him and steady himself. The crowd's cheers erupted again, this time even louder.