Chapter 269: Caught on Arrival

Chapter 269: Caught on Arrival

Vesper loaded her left hind leg, deep enough for Jin to feel the pressure through Glitch’s feet. The boundary lay behind her. A short hop would put her beside his head; the longer bound would carry her past his forequarters and into room where she could turn again.

Jin watched her shoulders as she sprang.

The ground fell silent beneath her. He followed the rising body with his eyes, waiting until her direction was clear. She was going across, just as Nadia had ordered, toward the patch of stone beyond Glitch’s shoulder.

"Now. Straight!"

Glitch released Faultline Rush from his planted stance.

His claws struck a crack out of the composite, and the distance vanished under him. Jin had set the interception close enough that Vesper was still descending when Glitch crossed the first few meters. She saw him coming and twisted, trying to get her forefeet underneath her sooner.

She almost managed it.

Glitch’s shoulder caught her as one paw touched down. The impact knocked her sideways along his line, and he drove through beside her, still committed to the burst. Jin saw fur against dark plating, Vesper scrabbling for purchase, and the open floor approaching far too quickly.

"Brake!"

Glitch’s burst spent itself. He lowered his hindquarters and dragged his claws against the stone, carrying forward another short stretch before stopping. Vesper slid alongside his forequarters, shoulder-first, then rolled onto her belly just ahead of him.

Her front paws found the floor. Her hind legs were still tangled beneath her.

Glitch took one heavy step forward and lowered his chest over her shoulders. His foreleg braced on the stone beyond her, taking enough of his weight to keep the restraint from crushing her ribs. Vesper tried to twist clear, but her rear paws scraped uselessly as Glitch settled with her.

Jin held his breath through her second attempt. She shifted him slightly, then flattened again beneath his chest.

"Yield," Nadia called. "Vesper, down."

The referee raised his hand. "Match! Release!"

"Off her," Jin told Glitch, and only then remembered to breathe.

The noise reached him as he crossed the floor. Students were talking over each other, pointing at the launch mark and checking their recordings. A boy at the rail replayed the burst for his friend, who immediately took the phone and replayed it again.

Jin couldn’t help looking. He had imagined a reaction, but seeing two hundred people trying to work out what his lizard had just done was better than imagining it.

Glitch backed clear of Vesper and lay down, sides working. The sight brought Jin straight back to him.

He checked the flank first. The rakes remained shallow, with no fresh bleeding beneath them. Glitch’s forelegs were hot and trembling faintly at the shoulder, but he let Jin lift each foot without protest.

"Good boy," Jin murmured, rubbing behind the jaw. "You stopped. You actually stopped where we wanted."

Glitch leaned into his hand, pleased enough through the bond that Jin laughed.

Nadia came over with Vesper walking stiffly beside her. The panther favored one shoulder but was bearing weight on all four paws.

"That’s not in the Varro tape," Nadia said.

"No," Jin admitted.

She glanced back at the launch mark. "How far can he do that?"

"I’m keeping that one to myself."

"Worth asking." Nadia crouched to check Vesper’s foreleg. "I thought I’d stopped you reading her. Then I let you walk us toward the ring."

"The short jumps worked," Jin said. "I couldn’t pick one until you went across."

Nadia looked up at him, then gave a small, rueful nod. "Well, I’ll remember that."

Vesper nudged her hand. Nadia rubbed the panther’s neck and stood, dusting her knees.

"Congratulations, Astor. I’d like a rematch before the season ends."

"I’d like her to forget the short jumps first."

That got a brief smile. "Unlikely."

[Match result: Challenger victory.]

[Jin Astor — Third-Class Rank 23]

[Nadia Sorrel — Third-Class Rank 28]

Twenty-three. Two wins, and he could finally challenge someone inside the qualifying places.

Jin sat down on the bench outside the beast-care wing that evening and let himself feel it properly for about a minute, which was longer than he usually allowed.

When Glitch started nosing at the feed bag beside his knee, Jin took him into the private care stall and opened it.

Glitch ate an enormous amount. That was the first thing. Jin had set aside an extra half ration for the evening. All of it disappeared, and Glitch looked pointedly at the empty tray.

"I know. There’s more coming," Jin said, reaching for the scales again.

He crouched and examined the flank under the stall lamp. The earliest rakes were already shallower than they had been in the arena, although the skin remained tender. Lesser Regeneration had been working quietly while the medics checked him.

Jin knew the appetite that came with it. The skill drew on stored energy to restore minor wounds and stamina; Glitch couldn’t keep spending those reserves without replacing them. Nor did fading scratches mean his strained legs were ready for another burst. Jin entered the feed amount in the recovery log before weighing the next portion.

Elsa’s message arrived while he was weighing out the second tray.

rank 23????

Jin typed back, Yes.

you didn’t TELL me you had a match today

I said I was challenging her, he replied.

Elsa’s answer arrived almost immediately. That’s not the same as saying it’s TODAY.

A pause, then: is he hurt

Scratches. They’re already fading, Jin told her.

good. tell him he’s terrifying and I’m proud of him

Jin looked down at the terrifying animal currently trying to fit his entire head into an empty feed tray, and decided the message could wait until he’d stopped.

Doyen came into the stall to check the foreleg strain and made a satisfied noise.

"No claw at all?"

"Didn’t need it," Jin said.

"Then we’ll review him before the next match." Doyen straightened up. "When are you thinking?"

"After two full days off. If he’s ready."

"Good. Take both of them." She entered her notes. "Rest tomorrow, light work the day after. I want to see how these legs feel in the morning before you decide he’s fine."

"I’ll send the readings," Jin promised.

When she left, he sat beside Glitch and finished the log. The lizard put his chin across Jin’s foot and fell asleep halfway through the feeding section.

Nine days left. Three positions to the Top 20, and a legal challenge that could reach exactly that far.

Two days. Then we go get it.