Rose finally collapsed, exhausted. Taylor was breathing hard, and following suit, he lied down too.
“That was good. You did well last time,” Taylor said, panting.
“You still won,” Rose replied.
“Yea, but still, you made me really work for that victory. Good job, Rose,” Taylor said closing his eyes.
When he opened them again, Rose was sitting up looking at him. She had already shifted back, putting her clothes on. She looked beautiful, as the rays of the setting sun fell on her. He couldn’t read her expression; she was looking at him as if trying to find everything about him.
Taylor sat up as well, shifting back to human. He sat there, staring back at her, as the sun slowly continued to set.
“I can’t figure you out,” Rose finally said.
“Really? I am a pretty simple guy,” Taylor replied.
Rose shook her head. “No. You aren’t. Out there, you are someone else. Over here, you are someone else. Who really are you?” she asked.
“I am Taylor. I like to party, drink, and have fun,” Taylor replied, but Rose just shook her head.
“No. That’s not all there is to you. You are not just a guy who parties and has fun. That’s who you show yourself to be,” Rose said.
“I don’t know what to tell you. That’s me. I am the cocky, arrogant jerk, who thinks he is the world,” Taylor said.
Rose was frowning, her eyes narrowed. “Do you?” she asked.
Taylor was confused. He had never had conversations like this before. Most of the time it was jokes and boy talk with his friends. Rose was looking very serious and asking these deep questions.
“I know my worth, I guess. I don’t think I am the best. In fact, I don’t think I am better than other people. I just know where I stand,” Taylor replied.
Rose was staring at him again, and she was silent for a long time. Finally, she said, “Who are you, Taylor?”
Taylor didn’t know what to say.
Chapter 9
Rose
The day of the match had finally arrived, and Rose was very nervous. If she lost this match, she was out of the championship before it even started. She was pacing around nervously, waiting for her turn. Taylor was sitting in the audience and kept trying to throw her reassuring smiles. Rose was ignoring him, because he was just making her even more nervous.
She heard cheers as the match ended, and then she heard her own name being called.
“Rose vs Luther!” the announcer shouted, and the crowd started to cheer, as both the contestants started to walk to the clearing.
“On our right, we have our new budding contender, Rose! On our left, we have another new contender, Luther! Rose must win this match to stay in the competition. However, if Luther wins, he will qualify for the quarter finals. You all know the rules,” the announcer said. “Are you ready?”
Both Rose and Luther shifted into their wolves’ forms. Luther was huge as a wolf, even though he was much younger than Rose.
“Fight!” the announcer said. Rose remembered Taylor’s instructions and tried to keep all her senses alert. Luther didn’t waste any time jumping at her, and Rose instantly dodged. Luther was very strong, and Rose knew she couldn’t afford a head on head match.
Rose dodged and instantly turned around. Speed was her best friend today. Luther was bulky and hence moved slower. By the time he landed, Rose was already ready for his next attack. Luther jumped towards her once again, snarling. Rose dodged once again, jumping away at the last moment.
Keeping Taylor’s advice in her mind, she turned around instantly, keeping herself aware of Luther’s movements at all times. Luther jumped again and Rose dodged, repeating the previous pattern. She could see Luther getting more and more frustrated.
He lunged at her, and Rose dodged. Luther almost instantly lunged at her once again, hoping she wouldn’t have time to dodge. But Rose had already anticipated this and she dodged effortlessly. Luther was starting to get more and more angry. He snarled and growled at Rose, clearly not wanting to be shown up by a girl.
“Hey, Luther! Can’t you even catch the girl?” she heard someone shout from the audience, and people burst out laughing.
Luther gave a terrifying growl, his ego injured, and he lunged at Rose again, who dodged him. Luther bounded once again instantly, doing a back flip in the air and turning towards Rose. Rose darted out of the way before he could land. She heard his feet land on the ground and then lift, and she knew he was jumping again. She jumped out of his way again.
