Upon Aster's arrival at the Selection Grounds the following morning, he found the friendly she-wolf sitting in the same spot as the previous day, so the currently disguised boy made his way over, the she-wolf offering up a lazy wave his way in greeting.
The she-wolf in question had a wonderfully elegant coat in Aster's opinion, with a dark, ashy gray covering most of her body. Her medium sized breast(medium in beastmen standards, but twice the size of the largest human breast size), small strips of her underarms, the tips of her ears, and her brows were coated with a much lighter, silvery-white gray. She had a similarly coated, four pointed star-like jagged patch of fur at the center of her forehead.
Aster found himself wanting to touch it for some reason. Her clothing was a simple white shirt covered by a leather vest, and plain light brown trousers that conformed to the contours of her curves.
She was strikingly beautiful and imposing in an arresting way.
The she-wolf's large paws stuck out the ends of the pants, crossed at the ankle, just as her slender arms crossed behind her head as she lazed back against the stone seating, her dual swords resting in their sheaths beside her.
She almost always appeared to be bored or nonchalant to Aster, but she was certainly imposing, even more so after seeing her in battle. The young human found it all oddly comforting, however.
Aster, or "Mortum," as he was currently, took a seat beside the large she-wolf, greeting her as well. Much to the disguised human's delight, the more experienced warrior began making small talk with the boy once again. She was probably the fifth person the boy had ever had a chance to converse like this with.
They continued on for a few moments before the sound of thunder signaled the continuation of yesterday's event growing nearer, the great cloud circle forming once more. The gray she-wolf looked over towards the new odd little friend beside her, and decided to wish him well on his endeavors.
"Good luck out there today. May we both make it through to the finals, even if our blades cross then." Stahl extended her hand towards the beast with her trademark fanged smile.
Aster faltered for a moment, feeling guilty about accepting the offer given his current deception, but extended his hand to clasp the she-wolf's own none the less. With a firm shake, the warriors further solidified their comradery.
A bit later, shortly after Stahl had finished her own third match for the day, the she-wolf sat watching her new weird friend against his own third opponent. The badger the disguised beast know as Mortum was fighting was putting up a good match, displaying some real power behind his swings in the process, attempting to overwhelm the smaller creature with it's size.
At this point in the event, that much was to be expected. As the weaker contenders took their second losses and were removed from the competition as the rounds dragged on, the difficulty of opponents really began to raise for those still vying for a spot at the top, all while the remaining number of warriors fell.
Suddenly, the badger swung left, and then right in quick succession. The odd beast managed to dodge both, squatted down, and used every bit of strength he had to buckle the badger's knees from behind him with a quick turn.
The beast, Mortum, while continuing his movement as he stood back up, ended the maneuver by bringing his staff down upon the fallen badgers chest, securing the final point needed for the victory.
The she-wolf grinned to herself as the contenders bowed to each other in respect before her new friend made his way back to their spot, breathing heavily beneath the mask as he took his seat.
"Nice one. Almost had me worried. I'm starting to see why you chose that staff as your weapon. It makes up for your lack of reach." Stahl had noticed small compliments really made her weird little buddy open up when talking, so she tried to work them in when she could.
She wasn't exactly expecting the answer she got, but she had managed to get the boy to drop some of his walls without realizing it.
"Haha! I wish I could take that credit, but in truth, it's just the only weapon I was taught to fight with." The she-wolf immediately noticed what the boy had overlooked.
"Oh? I thought you learned from watching?" Stahl ended her question with a raised brow. She could almost feel the little beast lock up beneath the mask, who only looked away, going silent.
The she-wolf was about to leave it alone, until something more caught her eye. She stared for a bit at her discovery before calling to the creature.
"Not my business. Got it... But uh, Mortum..." The beast meekly looked her way again, the she-wolf finished her statement by raising her arm and tapping on her side.
"Your bandage shifted." Her odd friend was visibly alarmed, as he quickly moved his hand to readjust the wrapping, re-covering his exposed sliver of tan flesh.
The she-wolf was even more curious now, she'd only seen a color of skin similar to that one on a pinkish pig, and while the possibilities were vast, Stahl didn't believe it was a pig beneath those wraps.
It was about that time, that the she-wolf really got a good dose of the creature's scent, presumably because the beast had finally worked up a bit of sweat with the exertion last match.
The she-wolf had expected it to smell earthen and rotten, considering the weird helm and bandages, not to mention the ratty looking patches of fur poking out of the disguise, but was happily intrigued instead.
The beast had a scent she'd never picked up on before, and the she-wolf had met many kinds of beastmen. It had a hint of sweetness to it, but a sharp, almost spicy bite to it as well that burned at the tips of the canine's snout, much like an onion. Something about it made the she-wolf's jaw clench tightly just a bit.
Stahl chose not to pry further yet, considering her friend had all but shut down on their conversation. Their silence was soon broken by an announcement booming across the stadium.
"As the entry pool has now dwindled to less than 15% of entrants remaining, we will be hosting our fourth and final round of the day next! We will rejoin the remaining competitors here tomorrow for their final two rounds!" The crowd cheered in approval. They were getting a good idea of who to keep an eye on, however, they weren't the only ones making observations.
Jagón had an uneasy feeling burning in the back of his mind watching the match between the badger and the strange creature. There was something he was supposed to be realizing here, his instincts were screaming it.
Something about the creature's fighting style was eerily familiar to the panther, but he couldn't quite place it. The knight was about to give up on doing so when the beast made a move that finally forced all the pieces to fall into place.
A leg sweep rising up into a downward strike. The panther had commonly seen the technique executed by two others, his oldest son, Talan, and the one who had taught it to him, his head servant, Javis.
Realization set in as the panther compared the previous techniques displayed in the odd creature's prior battles. Everything lined up, he knew who was beneath the disguise, and for the first time in a very long time, the knight found himself truly afraid for what the evening may bring.
"Riiiing outtt!" The match judge boldly declared, signaling Stahl as the victor for her final match of the day. The she-wolf had finally had a worthy opponent, but the other fighter was simply outclassed and out maneuvered by the noble she-wolf in the end. Stahl boastingly soaked up the audience's applause for a moment before returning to her seat.
"Congrats. I'm glad you made it through..." The beast hadn't spoken much the last hour or so, so Stahl was a bit surprised he had resumed doing so. Still, she thanked the other fighter. A while later, the judge called out another two names.
"Mortum Ambula, Oust Candori."
***