Riley was very persistent in his teasing as their swords met repeatedly.
“You never think about what she thinks while you’re fighting?’
Lexx knew what she was thinking when he was fighting. It bothered her. Right now, despite blocking her signals, he swept the surface of her emotions. She was really concerned.
‘You have hundreds of female fans who watch you just for these moments!’
The thought sickened Lexx.
‘They love this stuff! You don’t show off at all?’
He had shown off. There had been times when Lexx enjoyed the cheer of a crowd. It was exhilarating despite his hatred of every single one of them. They were the reason he was there, but like a beaten sallomandyr, he strove to please those that made him suffer. It was twisted and cruel. He wished they would all die and leave him alone.
‘I’m giving you all kinds of opportunity!’ Riley’s sword swung dangerously close to Lexx’s left wing.
‘I’m not doing that, Riley!’ Lexx retorted, deciding it wasn’t worth the risk of getting struck by that sword across the wing. It was still healing. Getting past Riley’s defense was much harder than Lexx had thought it would be.
From the sidelines, Chel and Maenae watched the battle. Maenae was staring wide-eyed and silent. She had seen the fights before and understood what they were for. She did not enjoy watching them and that was how Lexx liked it. She didn’t like it. She wouldn’t support it.
Chel’s forehead was furrowed into light wrinkles of frustration and worry. She had been ok until the swords came out, now she was afraid that someone would get hurt. She didn’t want to see that, but at the same time, she couldn’t look away.
‘Riley really likes this. I can’t believe he’s bonded like Lexx so he can fight.’ It boggled her mind. ‘Why would anyone do that willingly? Memories of a fight well done are my prize, not my opponent,… I don’t get it,… but at least they aren’t really fighting.’ Chel stared at the arena, the words Riley had spoken doing little to comfort her. ‘But,… Riley is enjoying it and that’s kind of scary. I think he’s trying to hurt Lexx,…’
One thought on “May 23, 2003”
ToxicSunrise
Ah, Riley… he means so well and understands so little… at least when it comes to Chel, and I think maybe females in general.