FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

Mindbender Games

comidacomida copyright 2019

Tatiana slowly sat down in the padded chair provided to her by the fight league, out of breath and sweating. She lowered her head, long strands of auburn hair cascading forward to cover her face as she worked to steady her breathing. The battle official beside her reached over almost ceremonially and removed the thin silver circlet that had been resting on her brow; the emerald that had been placed across her forehead slowly ceased glowing as the announcer declared "The winner: Tatiana of Greenwood!"

The audience, magic users and mundane alike let loose an uproarious roar of approval. As the most important spectacle in the town of Graymantle, the Mindbender Games pitted skilled mental-mancers against one another through a series of challenges in which they controlled their 'Proxies', creatures that they had forced to submit to their will. The two magi would could control their Proxies the best would finish each elimination round in an arena-style combat in which only one Proxy would leave alive. The magus on the other side of the arena slumped forward, slamming his hand on the railing as the official on his side removed his circlet, the emerald inset in it had shattered.

Gazing down at the arena below, Tatiana saw her Proxy, a seven foot tall humanoid creature that looked like a cross between a giant bat and an ogre. Wounds aplenty were evident on his body where his dark brown fur was plastered to him by blood and one of his gigantic ears had a nasty notch where Tatiana's opponent's Proxy had caught him with a claw. She gazed down at the bat-like monster, her face neutral and unmoved by his injuries; he was, after all, supposed to be nothing more than a tool. Her insensitivity, however, was an act.

Tatiana was many things, but she was no mindbender. Passingly familiar with several different schools of magic, the young woman had picked up a variety of spells but enchantment and mind control had long eluded her. She could not force a mind nor could she charm with magic; all of her talent in that regard was pure charisma... that, in fact, was the very reason in fact that she was able to enter into the Mindbender Games. She couldn't enslave with spells, but she was a masterful con-artist.

Her distraction was taken as fatigue by the official. "Magus Tatiana... this round is complete. You may collect your Proxy in the staging area."

She gathered up a pair of silk gloves she'd set down before the match began and made her exit with all of the self-importance of a tried and true Mindbender. She reminded herself with each step to count her stride; a magus did not hurry and, despite how concerned she had been to see her Desmodu Proxy dripping lifeblood they were too close to their goal to let that worry break her cover.

The staging area was far too many hallways away but Tatiana managed to maintain he composure as she traversed all of them, barely nodding in acknowledgement to the guardsmen who opened the door for her as she passed through. It was far along enough in the tournament that most of the holding cages were empty; most remaining Mindbenders had a staging room all to themselves, and she was no exception. The moment the door closed behind her she dropped all pretense and ran to where her Desmodu lay on the straw-covered floor of the cage. She called to him softly. "Waidel?"

The bat-like man's ears immediately focused on her and one of his eyes opened. "Congratulations... on your win... Ana."

His voice was deep with enough vibrato that she could feel the bars of the cage vibrate beneath her fingers. Although it was strong, she could also tell that he was tired, and in pain. Although she was not very good with mind magic one skill she had picked up was sympathetic magic, and that meant she could tell that he was injured far more than he let on while he was in the ring. The Mindbenders could control their Proxies and block out their sense of pain, but Tatania was no Mindbender, and that meant Waidel felt everything. She grit her teeth, faking a smile even as she felt tears form in her eyes. "YOUR victory, Wai... you were the one who did all the work."

He offered up a fake smile of his own, his fangs pulling against his tight lips as he almost managed to use the expression to hide a wince. "I couldn't fight without you, Ana... and you are the one who keeps me alive."

He was right, of course, but she still couldn't help but feel that her part of the partnership was lacking. She reached her hand between the bars and his enormous hand engulfed it. Closing her eyes, she murmured several words of power and made a series of arcane gestures with her free hand, sending a pulse of healing energies into her partner. She felt a shiver run up her spine as he made sounds far beyond her range of hearing but, when she opened her eyes, his wounds were gone.

Waiden offered a much more genuine smile, reaching out his other hand to brush her hair back before it found a place on her cheek. "You ARE amazing, Tatiana."

His praise never failed to get a reaction from her and she smiled, drawing her hand out of his before placing her fingers against the bar of the cage. With a single word the door popped open, releasing the Desmodu from his confinement. "How are you feeling, Wai?"

Her companion stretched his arms, the long, leathery wings connecting them to his body stretching and withdrawing with the movement. "Much better now. I am forever thankful for our partnership... but I am still frustrated."

It wasn't so much what Waiden said as the way he said it. Tatiana stepped forward and pressed her body to his, letting out a soft sigh when she felt the bat-like creature's enormous form quiver at her touch. They had started their alliance out of necessity; he wanted to fight and she needed to portray herself as a Magus, but it had grown into something more since then. Slowly pulling away, she rested one hand on his chest as the other slid down to tickle the fur just above his loincloth. "We have the staging room all to ourselves, you know..."

His ears zeroed in on her as he raised an eyebrow, his expressive bat nose wriggling as pressed it to her forehead. Waiden was not stupid, but he was naturally reserved. Reaching out to brush her shoulder bare of her dress he questioned "Which means?"

Judging by his action he knew what it meant, but she wasn't above reinforcing that understanding by deftly undoing his loincloth. "I can help you with taking out your frustration."

She did... for nearly an hour; when they were done she used healing magic on herself. Although he was careful, Weidel always hurt her, but she was content to know that it was part of the contrition she paid for the pain he was put through every time he pretended to be her Proxy. She was a con artist and a liar, but when it came to him she didn't feel the need to pretend and desperately wanted things to feel equal. His smiles told her that it was equal enough.