Chapter 300: The Last Way Back

Chapter 300: The Last Way Back

Glitch’s left hind leg took a shorter step on their first circuit of the yard. Jin slowed with him, watching the foot settle before he asked for the turn.

The stride evened after a few minutes. That was encouraging, though Glitch’s eagerness to reach the feed trolley probably deserved some credit.

"After the check," Jin told him.

The delegation medic arrived at seven. She examined the closed thigh cuts, pressed along his back, and watched him walk in both directions.

"Soreness," she said. "No sign of a new strain. Easy movement today. I’ll check him again before competition."

Jin nodded. The cuts had healed much faster than the stiffness; Lesser Regeneration was useful, but it hadn’t made Glitch enjoy turning left this morning.

Flicker landed on the stall rail beside him and picked at his sleeve.

"You’ve already ruined that bit."

She found another thread. Jin moved his arm before she could improve the damage, then carried her to her breakfast perch.

Glitch watched the smaller bowl arrive first with obvious disapproval.

"Yours is coming."

Marris had the bracket waiting when the delegation assembled at nine.

Six academy names occupied the opening knockout round. Three winning lines led toward the semifinals; the three losing lines joined a smaller playoff below.

Jin followed Meridian’s losing line before he meant to. With the sixth seed, they would have to play the first revival contest, then beat whichever defeated academy received the bye. Two wins for the one remaining semifinal place.

Beside him, Corin was tracing the same route.

"Can we look at the bit where we win?" he muttered.

Jin moved his finger. "I was getting there."

"Tomorrow’s three winners advance directly," Marris said. "The revival playoff returns only one of the three losers. If we need that route, our first contest is five days later."

She opened the rule beneath the bracket.

[Revival Playoff — Continuation]

[A winning tamer may continue with coach approval and a fitness check.]

[Withdrawal or substitution ends that tamer’s participation in the contest.]

Bex read it twice. "So someone can win all three?"

"Against fresh opponents," Marris said. "No leaving to recover, no treatment window. If you step out, you’re finished for that contest."

Bex sat back. "Oh."

"The inspection decides whether you’re fit to continue. That’s all."

Jin remembered how his hands had shaken after the badger fight. Going straight back onto the floor hadn’t sounded appealing even after he’d won.

"Ordinary contests still use the submitted five," Marris continued. "This provision applies in the revival playoff only. Know it, then put it aside. We’re preparing to beat Sablecourt."

Jin opened the recordings he’d saved the night before. He was glad he’d slept instead of trying to finish them in the stall; some of Sablecourt’s exchanges took several viewings to follow.

Their three submitted lineups contained fifteen positions, with several changes and a few repeated names. Some students had never reached the floor because their academy had already won the tie.

"We have profiles for everyone," an instructor said, "but not current bout footage for all of them."

That left room for a nasty surprise anywhere in the order.

Jin worked through the available recordings while the seniors compared likely combinations. Eventually he found something small enough to trust.

"Tarrant changes his bird’s approach after an opponent starts watching the same side," he said. "Here, and again in the other bout. He notices where they’re looking."

Marris watched the two marked exchanges. "Good. Add the times to his profile."

Dray opened the entry and added a note. Jin watched her do it, then looked down before she noticed. He still liked seeing his suggestions appear beside hers.

By lunch, three people had changed their predictions and Corin had crossed out his entire order.

"Keeping that one?" Jin asked, nodding at the last name. ℯℯ𝑙.

"Forgot to cross it out."

Jin slid the recording list back between them.

Glitch’s afternoon walk was easier. The medic watched his final turn and found no change that concerned her. Jin kept the rest of his work light, checking ordinary commands and leaving Rush alone.

Flicker flew between the yard rails while he packed the competition bag. He put the care sheet on top, then checked the side pocket for the spare wraps he’d forgotten to replace after Ashfell.

Empty.

He went back for them, annoyed with himself. Remembering a bird’s attack pattern was apparently easier than remembering something he’d used yesterday.

At nine that evening, Marris submitted the order.

[Meridian Academy vs Sablecourt Academy]

[1. Nessa Yun]

[2. Jin Astor]

[3. Hollis Dray]

[4. Tobias Renn]

[5. Corin Faile]

"You’ve adjusted well on the floor," she told Jin afterward. "I want that second. It doesn’t guarantee a comfortable matchup."

"I wasn’t expecting one."

"You can expect one privately. Just prepare for the others." Marris handed his care sheet back. "Morning inspection as usual."

Somewhere in Highmarch, someone was watching Glitch’s recordings tonight. Jin hoped they were studying the wrong one. He’d happily let them spend hours preparing for the Rush he hadn’t used against the tortoise.

Half an hour later, the pairings arrived.

[Second bout: Jin Astor vs Milo Tarrant]

[Beast: Sickle — Razorwing Kestrel]

[Rank 1, 9-Star — Silver (Peak)]

Jin stared at the screen.

Of course it’s the bird.

He watched Tarrant’s two available bouts again, this time imagining Glitch on the floor beneath Sickle.

The kestrel spent much of the fight circling low enough to keep its opponent turning. When it attacked, the wings folded into a shallow dive, talons raked across the chosen side, and a climbing turn took it clear.

Jin had noticed Tarrant reading an opponent’s attention. Now he watched what happened when the bird committed.

There was a brief stretch when its speed made a sharp change expensive. Not an entire dive; Sickle could abandon one early, and had. The opening came close to contact, when it was already low and reaching.

Glitch would have to survive that contact.

Tremor Sense wouldn’t follow the bird through the air. Rush could cross ground quickly, but it couldn’t chase a banking target. The claw needed reach, and full-power Acid Breath still lacked medical clearance. A hurried attempt to test a reduced breath against this opponent would be a poor substitute for a plan.

Dread might interrupt Sickle’s timing. Jin couldn’t assume it would stop the bird’s momentum or put it somewhere Glitch could strike.

He paused the recording at the bottom of a pass and brought up the arena diagram beside it.

Near the center, a missed counter left Sickle room to recover. Near the boundary, the same sideways knock could put her on the ground outside before she regained lift.

Jin traced the dive’s exit with one finger. Then he moved Glitch’s imagined position, leaving room for his tail and enough firm footing to absorb a hit.

He didn’t like how much of the plan involved letting the kestrel get close enough to hurt him.

She won’t come down just because I want her to.

Jin watched the sequence once more, then closed the recording. The morning would come quickly enough without him sitting up pretending a fifth viewing could make the bird slower.