"Entering Hell"
Daring Do slowly woke up, she lifted herself up going to a sitting position. Immediately she noticed her hoof did not hurt but it was still sore. Her eyes moved to the corner of the room to find Ahuizotl staring silently at her at the dark corner. He was laying one arm over the other, like how his cats would lay. She couldn't believe that she actually fell asleep while he was next to her, it was a chance for him to kill her yet she felt relief that he didn’t choose that path.
"How long was I asleep?" she asked, noticing that the sun was setting. Ahuizotl let out a yawn, showing her his sharp canines.
"Most of the day..." he answered. "It is almost time for your battle with Aila, the mare that challenged you." he explained. She let out huff going to her hooves.
"Fine!..It's not like I got a choice, I'll try not to embarrass her too much." she said, shaking her hoof wanting to get the numbness to go away. Ahuizotl eyes narrowed seriously.
"Do not be so confident, she is very strong, you have never fought with her before." Daring shot him a look of disbelief.
"Stronger than you?" She questioned.
"Of course not."
"Then I'll be fine. Are there any combat rules or customs you have?"
He placed his hand under his chin. "You will each choose a weapon, and cause as much damage possible to your opponent until they are unable to continue."
She cursed under her breath, She did not want to hurt anypony unless it was absolutely necessary. She acted under a code, don't kill and don't hurt anypony unless it was needed for self-defense. She had thought about killing Ahuizotl, something that came into mind during one of their battles towards a certain golden spear. She thought about impaling him with the tip. Putting an end to his tyrannical reign and psychopathic obsession for conquest, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Taking a life… was something she had never done before. She glanced back at Ahuizotl, who was picking his canines with his sharp nail using it as a toothpick.
From her years of knowing him and studying him she had come to realize that he is a meat eater. She had even heard of him killing ponies that were enemies of his tribe, taking their bodies to eat as a form of a feast for his triumph. She cringed in disgust, remembering that she had caught him eating eyeballs as a snack. She suspected they were from ponies. His choice of pallet made him more dangerous than she realized when she first caught a glimpse of him. It should have been easy to make the decision to kill him.
She had never seen another Ahuizotl like him, for as much as she knew, he was the last of his kind. She had tried to research his kind the first time she met him. His origins were surrounded on legends than about facts. It was as if he was born out of nothing. Perhaps that was the reason why she couldn't bring herself to take his life. Being the last of his kind, it would go against her nature to cause the extinction of a species. Regardless of what he had done.
"Anything you want to tell me about this mare?" she asked, "Any special qualities she has when she fights?"
He let out a smirk removing his finger away from his mouth. "You are asking me to cheat, Miss Do."
"Since when did you care about playing fair?"
"How true..." he tap the ground, almost as if he had a nervous tick. "She likes to see blood, hence why she has the scars..she did that to herself." Daring eyes widen slightly. "She cares less about physical punches and kicks then about slicing her opponent like a butcher."
"Like a butcher?" she mused. "Do you suspect that she might be the one that killed the two victims?"
He looked back at her, in genuine surprise. "It was my first thought, no-one can tell me of her whereabouts during the attacks, but I still do not have any evidence against her."
"Have she ever killed anypony before?" she asked darkly. He blinked at her and nodded.
"During an attack, approximately six months ago, I have seen her kill colts with only her dagger...I had to pull her aside when she began to mutilate them."
"I thought mutilation is what you do." She said in a challenging voice. His eyes suddenly flashed in anger.
"Do you think of me like a monster, Miss Do?" he asked, she stared at him not showing him a hint of fear. He let out a dark chuckle, placing his finger over his mouth. "You might be right..." he admitted. "I have killed ponies before, even as a pup...I killed my enemies with my bare hands snapping their necks like the twigs they are.....but," his eyes narrowed at her. "I have never mutilated them."
"But you ate them." she said with a twinge of disgust. He suddenly let out a laugh.
"Of course! It is part of my diet! we can't all be herbivores, it must disgust you but… II know it intrigues you." he grinned. Daring looked away from him. "Ah, yes it does, I see it in your eyes....would you like to know what ponies taste like?"
"Enough!" she shouted stomping her left hoof. "Don't you feel shame or at least guilty?!"
He placed his palm under his chin, leaning towards her in interest.
"You believe you know what is right, Miss Do? Do you believe to be superior to others?" he questioned with a smirk. She let out a growl wanting to wipe his smug grin. "I thought your job as an Archaeologist is to study culture and races, in my culture and in my race, we kill to survive. I do not incite an attack, no… other tribes do that to conquer my land and my people."
"As leader, I must protect my people, no?...and we fight to the death. You want to know why I eat my enemies? It’s not to incite fear but to survive myself...I need meat to survive, or else I will die, it doesn’t have to be pony, I haven’t had a pony for six months." He tilted his head at her.
"You must think of my people as barbaric, yet, this is our way of life...but there are standards and rules to follow as long as I am their leader, and mutilating bodies is something that leaves a bad taste in my mouth...."
Daring sat down, letting out a deflated sigh. She didn’t like it, but he was right. This is how they lived.
"Aila favors the dagger, I suggest you pick a blade with a long handle." He mentioned.
"I'll keep that in mind."
A loud bell rang, followed by two more. She and Ahuizotl faced the cloth hearing the loud rattle. He got up going to the sheet.
"It is time. One last warning..." he said turning to her. "If Aila strikes your hoof, it will cause problems, make sure she does not gain the advantage..." He smacks the cloth aside heading outside. Daring moved her head to one side, hearing her neck pop. She got up, moving her shoulders, limbering up before following him out.
Rows of torches lead them towards the middle of the camp. Ahuizotl walked along Daring who held her head up with a stern frown, but with a hint of uncertainty. All of the tribe ponies gathered around a circular stone, the stage for the fight. It was a round stone twelve feet across and four feet elevated from the ground. The ponies turned to their leader and his bodyguard giving them a respectful bow, separating themselves to a path towards the stage for Daring while Ahuizotl made his way to his throne, set to overview the fight. It was made out of wood beams elevated a foot above the stone. With one leap he seated himself comfortably while he kept his eye on Daring. Izel stood in front of her, holding a set of weapons for her choose on a metal slab. She eyed her choices carefully, while the tribe ponies starred wondering what weapon she might choose. There was three she could choose from, a jagged dagger, an axe, and a short staff. She blinked, and looked at the other side to see Aila, picking her choice of weapon, which was a dagger, just as Ahuizotl predicted. Daring looked from her choices one last time before taking the short staff. Izel bowed and without a word stepped out of the way. With the staff in her mouth, she jumps landing swiftly on the cold stone. She looked up seeing that a white circle was painted, a sign for the fighters to stay in the circle at all times. Aila stood at the other side, her head posed down with the dagger in her hoof, she spread her hooves apart going into her stance. Daring eyes narrowed as she placed the staff in her hoof, her right hind leg going back, bending her knees slightly, bouncing in place. In her travels she had learned many Martial Arts, Colt jin tsu, twi kwon foal, and Shaolin. Her wings came to advantage when it came to fighting, but she had to resist using them at all cost as they laid hidden beneath her dress.
Aila held a grin of confidence, her eyes wide ready to cause any harm necessary. Daring could feel her hatred towards her from the look. She let out a steady breath, trying to keep herself calm and focused. Ahuizotl held his hand high ready to give out the order for them to start. With one eye on him and one eye on Aila, Daring readied herself. His hands fell to a fist barking out his command.
"Tawo!"
Aila sprinted towards her, her dagger poised ready to strike into her chest. Daring stood her ground, reading her movements, and countered. She sidestepped and swung her staff. It made contact with the side of her head, crashing into her ear, making her shout out and stumble forward. Daring jumped to the side, going behind her. Aila shook her head, taking a step back avoiding the white paint as blood dripped out of her left ear, her eardrum ruptured. The tribe ponies exchanged glances in surprise while Ahuizotl held a hand under his chin, unfazed. Aila whipped her head back at Daring, baring her teeth. Daring held out her staff as Aila charged again, Daring sidestepped again only to have Aila follow, she made a quick jab hitting Daring in the chest. She lurched back, the air knocked out of her, Aila quickly elbows her in the head making her stumble sideways, almost losing her footing. Her eyes widened seeing the gleam of the dagger heading straight towards her, she jumped back only to feel the dagger slice down her shoulder.
Daring clutched the wound, blood gushing out, staining the stone. She hissed feeling it burn while Aila let out a laugh at her injury. Ahuizotl eyes widened slightly and leaned forward as Daring swayed trying to keep herself balanced all the while fighting the pain. She gritted her teeth glaring at Aila who held her head up, her eyes towards Ahuizotl, almost as if telling him that she was right. Daring shook her head, seizing the opportunity, she struck her. Swinging her staff which made contact with her head, neck, shoulder and swung around repeating the process.
Head.
Shoulder.
Neck.
Head.
Head......head.
The wood began to splinter as Daring continued to hit her forcing her back. Daring's vision started to grow more red by the second, not stopping her self when Aila fell, dropping her dagger in the process. She hit her again and again and again. The rage against the mare fueled her screaming inchorehantly at the mare who had the audacity to scar her. She lifted her staff up to deliver another blow to her skull, only to feel somepony stop her, grabbing her wrist. She whirled, her teeth bared like a wild animal to strike whoever grabbed her only to see Ahuizotl. She blinked, seeing his eyes low silently telling her to stop. He had jumped in the ring when Daring failed to hear him when he shouted out a command for her to stop, something that fell on deaf ears.
She was breathing hard, panting slightly, her throat dry from the screaming as she looked at the mare laying across her hooves. She was bloodied, from the head to her side, bleeding profusely from a crack to her skull, as her body was black and blue. She was unconscious from the moment she fell, unknown to Daring as she beat her.
Daring let out a horrified gasp, stumbling back on what she done. Aila was barely breathing when Izel and a few tribe ponies took her away on a makeshift bed, to treat her wounds. She felt Ahuizotl place a hand on her shoulder, pulling her away from the pile of blood left behind to face the spectators. Their eyes were full of fear from what they had witness from her brutality, she let out a shaky breath, this was the first time she lost control. Ahuizotl took off his golden wrist band and latched it onto her forearm. She looked at it in surprise and saw that the tribe ponies immediately bowed their heads, this time their foreheads touching the earth, a sign of extreme respect.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ahuizotl entered the medical tent of his camp to find Izel treating Aila of her wounds. She laid on her back, bruised and bloodied. Her cuts were wrapped in white bandages staining them with her blood. Her face was swollen, suffering from head trauma and having bruises on the left side of her face. She laid unconscious as Ahuizotl sat beside Izel.
"She looks like hell-" he said unable to hold back a grin. Izel gave him a sideway glance not sharing in the same humor. He placed the needles in her scalp trying to stop her brain from swelling.
"She will live." Izel stated gruffly. "But, she would suffer some damage that requires to be healed in the next few months and some of her bones are broken, she won’t be able to see battle in six months maybe a year."
Ahuizotl let out a hum. "She won’t like that."
"No, she will not, but perhaps now she have learned her lesson..."
"From being almost half-killed by Daring Do? She might even avoid her."
Ahuizotl placed a paw under his chin. "She was a real tribe pony for a moment in her blinding rage." Izel scoffed at his Lord from directing her as part of the tribe.
"She is a coward." He said bitterly, stabbing a needle onto Aila's fractured arm. "She cannot even finish the job, her attacks were sloppy, her rage drove her to that." He scolded.
"If Aila knew the simple basics! She would have been able to defend herself, damn foal."
"It was because I stopped her, Izel." Ahuizotl explained softly. "Having another death in our tribe would be troublesome."
"You are getting soft!" he accused turning his back to him. Ahuizotl eyes widen slightly as he poked him. "That is not how I raised you! I trained you to be fair but merciful! Aila had always been disobedient and you refused to put her in her place....I told you to kill her when you had the chance, and that mare..." he let out a growl from mention of Daring, turning back to Aila as he stabbed another needle on her forearm. "She almost had to do it for you."
Ahuizotl let out a breath at his advisor.
"You are right, father..." he nodded. Izel let out a grunt.
"What can I expect from a young mind like yours, my son?" he questioned quietly. "Changing traditions...., refusing to kill insubordinates, letting an outsider in our home in hopes of catching a killer, tch'! This is your puberty all over again." Ahuizotl muzzle scrunched as Izel continued. "But this is your tribe, you do as you wish."
Ahuizotl opened his mouth to respond before his ears perked, Izel turned to see Daring peer inside with her eyes to the ground. Izel growled lowly as Ahuizotl turned to her.
"Can I come in?" she asked. Ahuizotl moved his head to the side motioning her to come inside. The moment Daring walked in, Izel noticed the band on her arm his eyes flashed with anger as he bowed to her, his forehead touching the ground. She was taken back.
"Why is everypony doing that?" she asked. Izel let out a grumble turning away from her.
"It's because our Lord gave you that bracelet, it means you are in the same hierarchy as him." he answered.
"Wh-why did you give me this?" she asked towards Ahuizotl. He motioned to Aila.
"Because you defeated her, she was my strongest "untouchable" but you proved to be stronger that is why I gave you the bracelet." he said. Daring cringed slightly at Aila from the injuries she gave her. She never wanted to hurt her that bad.
"Will she be okay?"
"She will be fine, she suffered a few broken bones."
"I broke some bones?" she whispered horrified at what she had done. Izel gave Ahuizotl a sideway glance, moving his lips as he inaudibly said 'See? She is a coward.' Ahuizotl gave him a harsh glare making him turn away to finish his work.