Scale Festival

 Golden light shone over a sea of clouds with the setting of the sun, the sky cast into a sea of colors alike to flames, wind howling around the single creature who swam amongst them. A flash of purple, glistening like a brilliant gem in the warm light of the sun, sailed through the cover of the clouds. A shadow cast by great wings and a serpentine tail cast on the clouds below, before being blown aside by a mighty wing beat, crashing through the air like thunder. A single flap sent her skyrocketing upward, before the wings drew in close, wrapping around her body, becoming like a drill which quickly began to twist and fall, disappearing amongst the clouds. The glowering sunset sky returned to peaceful silence. It was torn asunder just as quickly, the cloud cover blown apart from within as she spread her wings once more, condensation glistening off of purple scales in the dying light of the sun, a mighty roar echoing through to the heavens.

She remained there, hovering in the air for a moment, basking in the warmth of the rays, deep red eyes staring across the sea of clouds to the sun disappearing behind the horizon. Thin lips slowly curved into a faint smile, eyes gently going shut as she bathed in the fading light. Her wings began to go limp, no longer catching the air to support her. And so she fell, down through the clouds as the sun itself fell from view, golden light replaced by the cold darkness of night.

"...I suppose I should be getting back..." Her voice was simply a hushed whisper to herself, pushing herself towards a course she would rather not follow. Her body twisted through the air, straightening out, wings tensing back up, spreading themselves out.

She continued to fall, faster and faster through the clouds. All it took was the slightest twitch of her wings, the tiniest change of an angle, to catch the air again, straightening her path out to be parallel to the Earth below as she broke through the lowest layer of clouds. To an onlooker, it might look like an upside down eruption of clouds that were dragged down by her fall. And in the same instant, her shadowy figure shot forth, flying just below the clouds, looking like a shadow against them in the growing darkness. Her expression was blank, twitching ever so closer to a grimace as she gazed off at a faint light in the distance.
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As the light of the sun disappeared and day turned to night, clawed and scaled hands easily crushed and snapped logs and thick branches apart, filling torch stands with the fresh timbers before setting them alight. The numerous flames illuminated the brightly colored tents scattered about, flames growing strong enough to leave doubts as to the time of day, unless one looked straight upwards into the darkening sky, stars beginning to glisten against the black.

Numerous people milled about between the tents, almost all of them bearing bodies covered in scales, the myriad of colors glinting in the torchlight. Although many others  could be seen within the crowed, it was clearly the lizardmen that dominated the camp. Even among the tents, many stalls and shops were run by lizardmen. While some were weapon or armor smiths, more frequent were a variety of food stands, girls practiced in more than just fighting shouting out the treats they had on sale.

More popular than these though, were the shops setup by travellers and merchants, come to meet and trade with the lizardmen who called the camp their home. They came from near and far to take the chance to sell any number of items to the reptilian women. Dwarves selling finely crafted pieces of jewelry and even more popular armors, witches of the Sabbath selling potions with every effect imaginable, an arachne with a stand full of finely crafted silk clothing, even taking measurements and requests from those who would pay for it. By far the most popular stands, however, were those selling weapons. While many were run lizardwomen belonging to the trope already, crafting weapons with whatever materials they could get their hands on to sell and share, most lizardmen were already used to the crafting techniques of their own people. Weapons crafted by foreign smiths tended to draw much more attention.

Tucked away off in the shadows, behind some of the tents and out of the light of the torches, a shadowy figure sat on a cold stone in the dark. Wide yellow eyes stared off into the distance, reflecting the shadow of  a mountaintop off in the distance. As the small shadow looked out to the mountain, her eyes suddenly flicked off slightly, eying a spot on the clouds. It was dark, just faintly darker than the clouds themselves. It could have been nothing, but all the same her gaze followed it as it touched down on the peak of the mountain high above. There was the faint outline of a pair of wings, tucking themselves in closer. The distant shadow seemed to linger for a moment, before it turned away, retreating into the deeper black of a cavern near the peak. The bright eyes, glimmering with youth, widened ever so slightly more just at what they had witnessed.

"Siida! Siida! Siida, are you out there!?" A voice called, echoing through the night over the sounds of the festivities behind it.

"Hmm?" The deep yellow, slit-pupil eyes of a young girl blinked shut briefly, her head turning away from the black expanse of the mountain approach she'd been staring into, back towards the festival tents that lay behind her. Standing just on the border between two of them, was a group of four women, "O-Oh! Sorry!" The girl shouted out, quickly springing to her feet off the rock she'd been sitting on.

To the girls who had called out to her, nothing could be seen, they could only hear her as she called back to them. Waiting by the tents, they looked out into the darkness that lay beyond the light of the nearest torch, as a figure stumbled out hurriedly from the shadows. The dark, navy blue, almost black coloration of the scales that covered her body were what served to keep her so well camoflaged in the dark, even in spite of the glistening white claws that tipped her scaled hands and feet. Though perhaps aided by the dark, tanned skin her scales didn't cover.

"There you are Siida! We were worried you'd fallen down a tiny little hole somewhere." One of the other girls said with a chuckle, raising a claw, her own scales a lighter blue than Siida's own, to pat the girl's head. She barely stood at shoulder height of even the shortest of the rest of the group, "What were you doing out here in the dark?" she asked, running her claws gently through the girl's hair, giving the dirty blonde mess a ruffle.

"N-Nothin'..." The smaller girl mumbled, blushing and looking down as her hair was rustled about, "A-And quit it Agami!" she snapped in a rather cute, unfortunately high tone of voice, raising her arm to swat the lighter blue limb away.

"Hmm...if I had to guess, I'd bet she was looking up at the mountain..." Another girl, the second tallest among them stated. Her Green scales shimmered in the light as she raised her hand, stretching one claw out to carefully push up the spectacles that rested on her nose.

"V-Vera!" The little lizard girl whined as Agami removed her hand from her head, "T-That's...I mean I wasn't!" She declared, throwing her arms down to her sides as she pouted up at the taller, green-scaled woman.

Vera's eyes closed behind the silvery glint of her glasses, arms raised up in shrug as she chuckled softly, amused by the embarrassment of her young friend.

"...did you see anything?" A quiet, calm voice questioned. The rest of the group quickly looked to its source, a girl who's pitch black scales would've made her even harder to spot in the darkness of the night than Siida. If the sheer depth and sheen of their color didn't make her stand out all the more, "Did you?" she repeated.

Before Siida could answer, a swift claw smacked the black-scaled girl over the back of her head. She let out a small grunt of pain, the blow sending her loose grey hair forward, obscuring her face, "Don't tease her like that Annie. It's not very nice when we all pine for a chance to see her." The soft, almost sultry voice admonished her.

Raising a shadowy claw up to brush her dull grey bangs from her face, Annie exposed an annoyed glare as she perched her hair behind one ear. Her gaze faltered slightly as she directed it at the tallest of the group, a woman who's dirty red scales glimmered like flames in the light of the torches, "I wasn't teasing her." Annie's voice remained even and calm, despite the annoyance displayed on her face, "I was genuinely curious." She insisted, shutting her eyes and turning away indigently, "And Lurida? I don't care to be questioned so by someone who can't even win a single fight against me."

This comment made Lurdia's eye twitch noticeably, her crimson claw slowly reaching up, covering her face for a moment, before raking through her brown hair, already pulled back into a single long ponytail, slowly moving towards the handle of the claymore that rested on her back, "I'm sorry Annie, but that almost sounded like a challenge."

"Only almost?" Annie repeated, a slight smirk twitching at her previously emotionless features, "Was I not clear enough then?" She asked, her posture shifting slightly more towards Lurida, her own dark claw moving towards the hand-crafted grip of the broadsword at her waist.

Agami and Vera both looked on calmly, smiling faintly to themselves as they moved to give the other two women room. Siida, however, stood her ground, gazing down at it as a tense feeling hung in the air. A silence fell over the group, blocking out the sounds of the celebrations mere feet from them. Annie looked up to lock eyes with Lurida, who stared down at her in turn. Both of their scaled claws slowly wrapped around the hilts of their weapons, ready to strike at a moment's notice. Their bodies tensed, predators ready to pounce, "I-I did see something!" The small voice squeaked out, breaking the silence.

Her friends directed their surprised looks down at Siida as her voice cut through the moment. Slowly, the little lizard raised her head. Her normally light brown skin flushed a darker red about her cheeks as she gazed back at her friends. They collectively blinked, holding their attention on her, seemingly waiting, "I-I-I...I saw a shadow. Up on the mountain. W-With wings and stuff! I think she was looking down at the fair! And then she-she turned and went into a cave!"

Once more, silence. Siida's eyes were shut tight, her face beet red with embarrassment, her arms clutched at her sides, waiting for something or someone else to break the renewed quiet. And then, laughter. At first, just a small sputter, a muffled giggle, joined by more. Peeling an eye open to peek out as the sound grew to a chorus of laughs, she saw her four friends, no longer tense and ready for a showdown, but bent back or over, faces all wearing wide grins as they laughed together. This reaction only made Siida's face glow all the more red with embarrassment, both her eyes open now, her cheeks swelled out as she wore a pout, waiting for the laughter to cease.

"...done?" She finally asked with a loud sigh, letting out the air she'd puffed out her cheeks with as the laughing died down.
"Y-Yes...pfft." Lurida muttered out, stopping her laughter with a bit of difficulty, still doubled over, her claws balancing on her scaly knees.

"So-sorry Siida." Annie responded, taking in a deep breath as she reared herself back, calming her own chuckles, before turning to look at her young friend, "It was just, well, you said that so suddenly." She was still grinning rather strongly, "Really ruined the mood."

"Hmph, well sorry for that." The girl spoke, crossing her reptilian arms over her flat chest, "But you two looked about ready to kill each other!" This earned a couple more amused snickers, "I'm serious! I've never seen you two so tense..." She insisted all the same.

"Oh come on Siida, it wasn't that bad." Agami said, raising a claw up, waving it back and forth dismissively, "I've seen these two way worse than that."

"You say that like it's a good thing...they didn't look like they'd even enjoy the fight." Siida mumbled, her petite claws gripping at the edge of the scaled half-skirt she wore.

Agami rolled her eyes, and Vera remained silent, though Lurida raised one of her bulky red claws up, rubbing at the back of her head a tad nervously. A new, more awkward silence fell over the small group of friends, though it was quickly broken again.
"So, you think you saw her? A silhouette up on the mountain?" Annie asked, the slight tone of laughter in her voice seeming to shift to a curious interest.

The others caught on to the subtle tone, leaning in a bit curiously themselves as Siida straightened up, nodding her head profusely, "Yes! I'm sure I did! I think she was actually looking down on the festival..." She mumbled the last phrase, mostly to herself, blushing at the thought, before quickly speaking up an alternative, "M-Maybe star-gazing or something! I bet that's the sort of thing she does!"

"As if you'd know." Agami spoke with a groan, snorting derisively as she turned around, "C'mon, I'm pretty sure that evening matches are starting soon, and I'm going to win tonight's pot." She stated with an arrogant smirk.

"Oh yes, I'm sure you'll take top prize. You certainly won't get knocked out in the first round like last time." Vera's voice dripped with blatant sarcasm as she turned around, closing her eyes as she smirked. Turning around, her tail swayed as she walked back between the tents.

"H-Hey! You can't just say that and walk away! Get back here!" Agami shouted, claws raking into the dirt as she turned and kicked off, chasing off after Vera.

Siida smiled wearily at her friend's arguments, watching them both head back into the lighted festival grounds. She began to walk along after them, stopping after a couple steps to glancing back, seeing Lurida and Annie still standing behind her, half in the dark, staring at each other.

"Are you two coming?" She asked, sounding a bit worried, "Agami's right, we don't wanna miss the matches...or have to settle with picked over meals." She grumbled, looking back over the tents.

"Oh, you can go on ahead Siida, we'll be along in just a moment." Annie stated, never looking away from Lurida.

"Yes, it shouldn't be too long at all...~" Lurida chimed in, smirking as she stared back.

Siida sighed, shoulders slumping down, exasperated, "Alright, but don't blame me if you wind up with nothing but burnt bacon tonight..." The little lizard muttered, arms waving about limp in front of her as she turned around and walked away.

"So...same bet as usual~?" Lurida asked, licking her lips hungrily once Siida was out of earshot.

"Oh? Offering to buy me all I can eat, and with a great view for a show?" Annie smirked almost smugly, "My Lurida, you really have learned how to treat a lady."

Both girls had tensed up again, grinning faintly to themselves as much as each other. Claws again slowly wrapping around their weapons. Siida cast one last gaze back out towards the darkness, smiling warmly to herself as she heard the excited cries of her friends echo out as they lunged at each other. The clashing steel of their weapons echoing back to her as she turned the corner of a tent, cutting off her view of her friends as they began their spar.

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"Honestly, it's just too annoying. Who do they think they are? Trailing after me, even when I move to some place new! They always wander after me...and manage to find me..." A clearly annoyed voice echoed through the dark walls of the cavern, together with the sound of hulking feet stomping along the stone. Great, razor sharp claws scraping against its surface with each step, "And it seems like there are more of them every time! And always with those annoying tents! They're annoying enough to have to look at in the daylight, but they always have so many of those damn torches, I can't even look outside at night!" Mighty, armored limbs thrashed out in the darkness of the cave, performing in tune to the rant. The occasional swipe of razor sharp claws striking against the wall easily cleaving chunks of stone away, "I can hardly even build up a half-decent treasure trove, they keep me moving so much!"

The figure continued along through the dark passage, moving slowly towards a dim light, at last stepping out into a larger, circular cavern. A small campfire built up in the center filled it with faint, flickering light, casting a wide, black shadow against the walls around the entrance as two vast, leathery, scaled wings stretched out from the single occupant, having been tucked in through the confines of the passageway. The crackling light of the fire danced over pristine amethyst scales, cloths of a matching color helping to cover up shamefully bare, sun-kissed flesh. Though the cloth was only a long strip down her front, emulating a dress of sorts, leaving the sides of her legs, and bare creamy thighs, exposed. Much more material would impede her movement, after all. Light, mauve locks of hair cascaded down the feminine creature's front and back, looking to have never been cut nor trimmed in all her life, yet remaining parted in a naturally elegant way, keeping her refined, noble features displayed proudly. The long strands wavering through the air with every step she took, as she slowly turned her head to gaze over what lay in the mostly barren mountain chamber.

There was little in the way of what could be called decoration in the cave, only a rather small pile of golden coins stacked against a natural stone pillar, barely enough to be able to cover a human sized body. Sighing deeply, the draconic woman turned on a scaled heel, her long, thick, glistening purple tail brushing along the golden coins. She then promptly fell back into the pile, the coins ringing as they splashed through the air, falling against her powerful body as they fell back down. Laying on the golden bed, she stared forward to another pillar, where the rest of her so-called trove lay.

"Really...the only treasures I even have are what they've given to me...all these swords. Useless trinkets. What worth are they to a dragon, who's teeth surpass any blade?!" She groaned aloud, continuing to complain to herself, though despite her words the weapons she stared at were rested carefully against the stone so as not to damage the edges, and they all looked to be carefully maintained, as though they had been crafted only the previous day, "Or these tapestries! Bah!" She dismissively waved a claw at a pair of sewn images, hung on the wall farthest from the entrance, depicting what appeared to be fierce battles between Lizardmen, "Do they really think their trifling little spars could ever compare to any battle waged by a dragon such as I?!" And yet her eyes roved over every vivid detail of the images, crafted so finely that one could almost imagine the cloth images moving, re-enacting the fights they depicted, "Hmph, maybe one day, I'll be rid of them, and actually be able to gather a respectable trove."

Muttering to herself still as she rolled onto her side, curling up on her bed of shining gold coins, she continued to gaze over what few other gifts and tributes she had received from the lesser lizards below. All things she claimed beneath her, that she only kept as she had yet to get anything better. And yet all things she would carefully pack up and take with her when she moved to try and escape the lizardmen who followed her.

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Stepping out from between tents, Siida entered back into the brightly lit campgrounds, lined on all sides by vendors, and filled with the chatter of the numerous festival-goers. Her eyes scanned the crowd for some sign of her friends, but she couldn't make out either Agami or Vera among the numerous lizardgirls. What she could see however, was a large number of girls gathered up in front of a single tent, pushing and shoving to try and get as close to the front as they could. Curious, she walked up to the back of the swarming crowd, trying to get a look at what they were all so excited about. Nearing the edge of the mob, she heard numbers being shouted out among them, as she managed to get a peek through at the stall they were gathered at.

It was a weapon stand, one of many that filled the festival grounds. What stood out about this particular tent was that you couldn't tell it sold weapons at first glance. There was a desk set out in front of the closed tent, two women standing behind it. One was a perky, younger looking girl, dressed in a Zipangese kimono. The oversized sleeves of the traditional dress flapped, rounded little racoon ears twitching atop her head as she waved her arms, a broad grin stretched across her lips as she seemed to control the crowd of eager lizardgirls clamoring at her desk.

"Do I hear five hundred?! Six hundred! Seven!" She shouted out, motioning to different girls within the crowd as they called out numbers.

Beside her stood a much quieter girl, who looked over the raging crowd rather nervously. She appeared to be wearing little more than a heavy black apron and a matching pair of gloves, her grey-blue skin mostly uncovered from the front. From a belt wrapped snuggly around her waist hung numerous tools, such as hammers, chisels and files, dangling like fine jewelry. Dark red hair was pulled back into a ponytail, a single horn jutting out from her forehead. Beneath her horn, her single, large eye twitched, looking over the crowd that screamed at her like a celebrity when they weren't making bids.

While their table did not have any wares on it, as one might expect from a tanuki merchant, there were instead a number of paper sheets gripped in the tanuki's hands. She waved the stack of documents about in the air as she motioned from girl to girl, "Twelve hundred! Can I get thirteen? Thirteen! No? How about twelve fifty? Twelve fifty? I have twelve fifty!"

Siida raised her claws up to cover her mouth, her other hand reaching up to wrap around her opposite elbow, giggling as she looked on at the mosh pit of an auction happening before the merchant. As a victor was declared, there was a collective sigh from every other hopeful auctioneer, while the winner walked forward to the merchant's desk. She dropped a hefty bag onto the wood surface, the sound of coins rattling against each other echoing out, bringing a satisfied grin to the tanuki's face. Thanking all the participants, she then motioned for the victor to come around the table, and into the tent with her and her cyclopean partner. Raising one of the flaps, many girls leaned in over the desk, shouting their jealousy. Looking on as best she could from the back, Siida glimpsed the inside of the tent with the others. A makeshift forge, just a furnace and anvil. The three entered the tent, the flap lowered behind them. Moaning with shared disappointment, most girls dispersed immediately, a few remaining to stare at the tent for a while.

Siida had wandered away after having just glimpsed the forge. She wore a faint smile on her face, imagining the possibilities of commissioning a weapon from a cyclops. Lost in her thoughts, it wasn't long until she came across another large crowd of women, gathered in a circle. They were packed in rather close, but weren't clamoring over each other like those in front of the cyclops' tent had been. Rather they were calmly observing whatever was in the center of the gathering, shifting about to peek over the shoulders of those in front of them. The cries of attacks and the clashing of metal echoed out over the crowd.
Ducking down, the small reptilian girl managed to work her way through the tightly packed flesh, scales and armor of her clansmen, soon popping up closer to the middle of the circle. Wooden planks were set up to form a barricade around the middle, dividing the audience from what lay in the center. Two women, swords drawn, pacing around one another. One cried out, swinging forward with what looked like an oversized cleaver, clenched tightly in both her claws. Her opponent deftly sidestepped the downward strike, her scaled foot finding purchase on the back of the cleaver, keeping it stuck down in the ground. She swung forward with her own weapon, a slender, single-sided blade Siida recognized as Zipangese in origin, what they called a katana. The cleaver-wielding woman let go of her weapon though, backing away from the cut meant for her neck, reaching behind her back to draw out a pair of normal sized cleaver blades. She quickly lunged in, assailing her opponent with a flurry of swipes from her dual blades.

"Oh Siida, there you are. What took you so long?" A voice spoke up, just beside the dark blue scaled girl.

She blinked, looking away from the fight before her, up to the figure beside her, "Oh, Vera! What a coincidence! Eheh." She smiled weakly, giving a bit of a shrug, "I got a bit caught up, watching the auction...y'know, at that one tanuki's tent."

"Oooooh, right, the cyclops and her patron are here tonight...Mmmm, I'd love to get my hands on one of her weapons. So much though, just to get the chance to talk with her." Vera lamented, a her hand raised up to rest against her chin, an outstretched claw tapping at the edge of her glasses, "How high did the auction go tonight?"

"Twelve fifty." Siida answered, leaning over the barricade, her elbows resting on its edge, hands cupping her face as she looked between the fight and her friend.

"That high?" She gave an impressed whistle, before letting out a sigh, "I wonder sometimes where these girls get all that money."

Siida giggled, nodding with agreement, before her eyes became distracted, falling to something above and behind Vera, "...Annie?" She asked, tipping her head.

Vera quirked a brow, confused, before glancing behind her. She saw Lurida standing there, her eyes then flicking up to see Annie, perched up on the taller woman's shoulders, legs dangling in front of her. She wore a broad grin on her face, versus Lurida's annoyed scowl.

There was a moment of silence, before Vera addressed her, "Lurida...you look like you took a face-plant one too many times."
"Quiet." Vera growled, her face splashed with dirt and grime, her armor and clothing not looking much better.

Annie, comparatively, had only a couple of scrapes and cuts visible on her arms and legs. She was quite happily chewing on a leg of meat, a platter covered in more delicacies balanced on her other hand, her elbow using Lurida's head as an arm rest.

"That was...pretty quick." Siida commented, a bit wide-eyed as she looked up at them, "I know I was a bit caught up in the auction, but I didn't leave you two that long ago..."

"I said quiet." Lurida hissed, her eye twitching slightly, keeping her attention focused on the fight ahead of them.

Eventually that fight ended, the katana user raising her sword, or what was left of it, the blade having been snapped off in the middle in the course of the match, victoriously into the air. Her foot was placed on the chest of her defeated opponent. Moving it away after a moment of cheer and applause from the audience, she reached down, taking the loser's claw in her own to help her up. The two gave a single shake before separating to return to the crowd. Entering the makeshift arena to replace them was a single, older lizardwoman, several scraps of paper grasped in her claws. Though her features didn't appear to be much older than the rest of the crowd, the way she dressed and carried herself betrayed her age and experience. Simply looking upon her was enough for one to recognize that she was a leader.

Clenching her hand into a fist, raising it to her mouth, she coughed loudly into her scales several times, calling the attention of the crowd, calming the chatter over the previous match, "Alright ladies, that was a good match!" She shouted out, her voice echoing through the night air, "We've got enough time for one more prelim tonight, so, who's it gonna be?!" She bellowed out, tossing the papers she had with her into the air. Her freed up hand shot to her hip, drawing out the razor sharp sword held there. She rapidly stroke out to impale one and then a second of the falling sheets in an instant, letting the others drift down to the ground, "Ah, damn, cut right into one of the names..." She muttered, tearing the papers off her blades, "Alright...looks like the last match to start up tonight's bracket will be..." She replaced her sword on her hip, moving to line up the torn sections of paper to read the names written on them, "Looks like...Kara versus...Siida!" she declared.

Siida blinked. Twice. Thrice. A fourth time.

"Huh? B-But I didn't make it in time to sign up..." She mumbled, looking a bit bewildered.

"Hmph, you can thank me later." A smug, slightly annoyed voice told her. The group collectively looked to their left, finding Agami standing there now, arms crossed, frowning.

"Y-You signed me up?" Siida questioned, turning to her friend.

"I signed all of us up, you're just the lucky-gecko who got drawn."

"Th-Thank you Agami!" The smaller girl leapt up, wrapping her arms around her friend in a tight hug, sending the lighter blue woman staggering back.

"Yeah yeah, you're welcome." She mumbled, groaning as she reached up to grab Siida's arms from around her neck, lifting her up and over the barricade, "You owe me at least part of the pot if you win though."

"Got it!" Siida said, smiling broadly, giving a nod as her friend released her, leaving her to fall into the ring, stumbling backwards a few steps.

Spinning on her heel as she regained her balance, Siida advanced to face her opponent. She was a girl that looked a bit older than her, and was fair bit taller. Her scales were a light tan color, though the armor she wore with it was a rich blue, focused mostly around her chest, with a large collar that covered up her mouth, wrapping around the back of her head. In one hand she held a large, curved blade, the shaft of its handle long enough for her to use it like a walking stick as she stepped towards the center of the arena, standing opposite Siida.

The two stared each other down, assessing their opponent for a moment, before shifting into battle-ready stances. Kara's tail whisked side to side behind her slowly, one leg pushing back into the dirt, lowering her into a slight crouch as she raised her weapon up. Grasping its long handle with both hands, wielding it like a spear, she pointed it straight towards Siida, who sucked in a deep breath. She let it out as she crossed her arms in front of her body, each claw finding a hilt to either side of her waist. In one swift motion, she raised her head, looking her opponent dead on as she drew out two simple, plain-looking longswords. Both lizardgirls now stood, weapons drawn, staring at each other, the crowd around them quiet but for hushed mumblings of wagers and thoughts on the fighters.

And then, the first move was made. Kara took a half-step forward, stabbing out at Siida with her weapon. The lithe smaller girl easily twisted out of the way, tucking her arms in as she spun around the stab. Stepping closer to her opponent in the motion, she swung out, one of her swords aimed at her head. Kara however, was easily able to spin her weapon in her grasp, flipping it upwards to let the back of the blade smack Siida's strike away. Safe, she twisted her body towards her, kicking out with her left leg, forcing her to jump back to dodge the blow.

"C'mon Siida, kick her ass!" Lurida shouted encouragingly, cheering her friend on.

"You better win this, I want that prize money!" Agami chimed in, less than entirely encouraging.

Kara's own friends cheered her on in turn, and it was not long before the two had leapt at each other again, trained eyes examining their opponent's every move, probing in search of a weakness as they clashed. Kara twisted her sword, facing the edge up before stabbing down at her small target, swinging up to try and catch her when she back peddled. However Siida instead rolled into the initial stab, narrowly dodging it and the follow-up, coming to kneel just behind her back. Twisting to swing both her blades at her opponent's side, she was knocked away by a swing of her tail, barely managing to dodge a follow-up swipe from her large blade when she span on the spot. Ducking under the slash, Siida dashed forward to strike at Kara's exposed side. Trying to defend herself, she used her momentum to keep spinning around, again trying to smack the tricky little lizard with her tail.

This time though, Siida was prepared for it, tucking into a roll just in time to pass right over the incoming tail. Hitting the ground, she rose to her feet just as what would have been another follow-up attack went entirely over her head. Before her opponent could manage to spin around for another strike, she struck out with the flat of her blade, striking a painful blow to one of her arms. Her hand opened reflexively, causing her oversized sword to drop to the ground, the blade impaled in the dirt as Siida's second sword came to rest against her throat.

Both girls were left panting, sucking in deep breaths from the exercise, as Siida's victory sunk in, a cheer coming from her friends as she lowered her blade. She sheathed them both before offering her hand out to Kara, "Thanks for the fight!" she declared, beaming at her win.

"Thanks yourself, slippery little thing." Kara said, smiling wryly as she let out a sigh, taking and shaking Siida's offered hand. Retrieving her weapon, she gave a shrug as she returned to her friends.

There were three more matches that night, and though Siida won her second, far more closely than the first, it left her exhausted, cut, and bruised, and in the end she lost the final match of the night. As the mini-tournament came to an end, so did most other festivities; chefs selling off the last batches of their food for the night, before closing up their tents like the other merchants, while their patrons wandered away to a separate grouping of smaller, plain tents. There were no torches lit here, only small campfires in the center of some groups, such as one that Siida and her friends now sat around, the dark little lizard wincing as Vera lightly applied medical salves and bandages to her cuts and scrapes.

"Ah damnit, and here I got my hopes up you might actually win." Agami whined, seated on one of several logs placed around their fire. An elbow rested on her leg, her arm supporting her head as she wearily bit into a loaf of bread she'd bought on their way out.

"Leave her alone Agami, she fought well." Vera said plainly as she finished placing a bandage on Siida's cheek.

"Hmph, if she hadn't been so sloppy in that second fight, we'd have won the pot!"

"You say 'we', but Siida did the fighting. All you did was submit a piece of paper." Lurida said, taking a swig from a canteen of water.

"I don't wanna hear that from you. And you really should take a bath tomorrow, your face is still filthy." Agami countered, snickering as she rolled her eyes.

Lurida cursed silently, pouring a bit of water over her claws, using the damp digits to try and wipe away some of the dirt still clinging to her face.

Grumbling as she adjusted to the sensations of burning and soothing brought on by the salves coating her wounds, Siida reached her palm up to cover her mouth as she let out a yawn, eyes half-closed as she moved to stand up. Her arms hung limply at her side as she turned away from the fire, "I'm gonna go to sleep now, night." She said her exhaustion clear in her voice. Her group echoed with sentiments of "Good Night", as the tired little lizard crawled into one of the tents that lay around their campfire.

"I'll be sure to wake you so you don't miss her morning take-off." Annie's voice reached her as her tent flap shut.

"Thaaaaaanks." Siida groaned back sincerely, before flopping onto her bed mat, falling asleep almost immediately upon hitting it.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

She was awoken by the sounds of a panic. Shouting, screaming, crying. No, not sounds of panic. Of excitement. Groaning, Siida's hands found their way to her sides, pushing her slightly off the ground as one claw rose to rub at her eye, "Mmm...what time is it...?" She mumbled, shifting to glance behind her, just as Annie and Vera both stuck their heads into her tent.

"Siida!"

"Siida, get up, you have to see this!"

Moments later, the three joined their other two campmates, along with the rest of their trope, all of them having gathered at the edge of their fairground. It was the closest point in the camp to the mountain, not far from where Siida had been sitting the previous night. Although back at the camps there had been shouting and screaming before, standing together now, they were all silent, speaking only in hushed whispers. Every lizardwoman about excitedly, letting each of them get a glimpse of what had caught their attention so early in the morning.

"I am Vidalia the Mighty!" A bellowing voice washed over the crowd, the name being repeated among them excitedly, "And I have had enough!" It barked again, burning red eyes casting their gaze over the gathered women, powerful wings flexing in a display of intimidation. The dragon had come before them.

"Ah...excuse me...Mighty Vidalia..." The leader of the troupe, the same lizardman who had overseen the fights the previous night, stepped forward. She gave a slight bow towards the dragon; unable to remove her eyes from her to give a deeper one, "If I might ask...had enough of what?"

"You lot!" She snapped in response, snarling at the woman, making her shrink back, "You all have been following me around for years! I can't stand it!" She shouted out, great claws crossing over each other across her chest, "Do you think that I need your recognition?!"

"N-No, of course not! We simpl-"

"Simply what?! Wish to annoy me? That is all that your presence manages to accomplish!"

"A-Ah...please, you must understand Lady Vidalia, we meant no insult..."

"Hmph, of course you didn't. And I suppose the so-called 'gifts' that you have offered up to me were also no insult? Paltry that they are." The dragon's voice dripped with sarcasm and disdain.

Many women among the troupe seemed rather distressed by their idol's apparent loathing of them, finding themselves questioning what they were doing with their lives then. Siida swallowed down a tense breath, shaking a bit as she processed the words. She didn't even hear her friends muttering their own thoughts to each other. This was the dragon that she had left home to pursue? This was the dragon that she woke up every morning at just the right time, hoping to catch a glimpse of her soaring off into the sky? This was the dragon that she would pack up and move with the rest of the women she had come to know like a family, just to follow after? This was the dragon for which she had gazed up into the darkness of the night not but a few hours ago, just hoping to catch a glimpse of?

She wasn't sure why. She knew she couldn't be the only one with such thoughts. She knew she couldn't be the only one who wanted to. And yet, after a moment, she was the only one who stood just a couple steps in front of the troupe leader, staring back at the great dragon. She eyed the powerful figure, glimmering with purple light in the dawn sun, with hurt clear in her own yellow eyes, "H-How can you say that?!" She shouted, snapping many of the stunned women out of their thoughts, surprised to see the girl having advanced forward unnoticed, "I've seen girls pour everything, everything that they have into just trying to get a gift that they think might be 'worthy' of the great Vidalia! We practically worship the ground that you walk on!" She went on, arms splayed out as she shouted at the great reptile, even if inside her own head, she was screaming at herself to shut up, "We build our lives around just hoping to catch a passing look at you each day! Maybe it is annoying, maybe we are beneath ever even hoping to catch your notice...but still...but still...how can you just disregard those feelings so easily?!" she yelled, stomping her foot down, her entire body tensed up.

A silence hung over the crowed, all of them staring wide-eyed at the girl who had apparently taken all leave of her senses, even the dragon herself looking rather surprised. She looked over the little, dark blue-scaled creature before her, even more shocked than she appeared that someone had spoken to her like that.

And then finally, she spoke again.

"Little lizard..." The annoyance, borderline hatred, that had laced her voice before was gone. Her tone entirely even; though sounding just faintly interested, intrigued by the bold lizardgirl that stood before her, "Are you looking for a fight?"

Her head down, Siida's eyes went wide at the taunt, a shudder running through her body. The words echoed over the crowd, repeated back and forth constantly. A fight? With a dragon? It would be suicide, surely. But the chance to battle this incredible creature, would it not be a truly worthy death? Many in the crowd wore horrified looks, scared for the girl before the dragon, none more so than her friends, whispering to themselves, begging her to stay quiet. To apologize. To retreat.

Siida was quiet. For a crushingly long time, she didn't move. She didn't speak, she barely even seemed to breath. Slowly, she raised her head, her slit yellow eyes meeting the narrowed gaze of the dragon's red orbs.

"Yes...I want a fight."