A Bounty to Fight

by NightSugar pone

chapter 8

On the day of the fight Star was extremely out of it and almost lost to the other mare, her suit now drenched in both her blood and the mare's. And it took some time for her to leave the ring before Windbreaker came to help her, even then, she seemed so emotionless. At this point Windbreaker was getting more and more worried about her and her well-being, it had been two nights since she had spoken with him so of course, he was concerned about the reason why she hadn’t sent a letter lately.

“What ‘s wrong with you? you’ve been so out of it lately that we might actually need a doctor to look at you,”
he said with a forced chuckle, obviously trying to help and failing at the attempt, as she kept her eyes focused on the ground.

“I appreciate what you're doing for me but I’ll be fine, just bring me to my dressing room and let me get cleaned up first, you can even come in with me if you’re that concerned,”
she said as more and more blood trailed out of her nose as if her current wounds meant nothing to her and her somber tone made him not want to question her.
So instead of talking the rest of the way, he stayed silent and hurriedly helped her into her room, and she let go of him she slowly made her way to her shower not even bothering with taking off her suit as she stepped in. During the time she spent in the shower Windbreaker sat on the other side of the room, and when another gryphon came in with her payment he quickly hurried out after noticing that she was showering. But while Star was in there she let the warm water wash away the blood that was beginning to can her fur, and she began to slowly slide off her body suit, letting little wisps of magic dance around her wounds. She tried her best to smother the glow that they gave off with her wings but every now and then a glimmer of light showed, and it was more than enough to get Windbreaker interested. And as soon as Star had stepped she was met with his serious face, but she didn't seem to care much as she almost returned the glare in full force.

“What do you want a cookie? you know my secret so what do you want?”
she pushed past him and he could feel the warm dampness of her coat as she did, and a blush nearly threatened to take over his cheeks, but he quickly fought away the feeling of nervousness as he saw her sit down in front of her mirror.

“What happened to honour? you told me you were and honour filled mare that always followed the rules of fairness and truth, you basically lied to everyone out there,”
Star just dabbed the remains of blood from her nose and dried off her mane, minding her own business like he didn’t seem to exist to her.

“I fight fair, I don’t do what I don’t have to in the ring, and I give my opponent a fair chance before taking action like I did today,”
she said as she checked her face to be sure that she didn't miss any fresh bruises before turning to face him.

“Besides, why do you care so much? it’s not like you actually felt anything for me...or did you?”
the words made him freeze in place as he tried to think of a way to respond, and his eyes scanned the entire room for something else to talk about but nothing came to mind. And he stood there Star stood up and walked up to him, forcing his eyes to meet hers again.

“You know why this can’t happen right? at least it wouldn’t be good for you if someone found out they would probably split us up or even put you against me. It would be like torture, and I couldn’t do that to you, it’s nice but it can’t happen, at least not right now,”
she had looked down at the floor as she spoke her last words, and her ears drooped as she looked away from him. and in that moment, a warm dose of courage filled his chest and he pulled her into a hug.

“I..don’t care, you're the first genuinely nice pony I’ve met in years and I feel like I can learn a lot from you, and possibly, you can learn a few things from me,”
she didn’t speak the entire time he held her, the feeling was so familiar and so gentle that she buried her face in his feathers and let tears roll down her cheeks.

“Thank you for not judging me, I feel the same way.”