#vtb-no.22

Author's notes: OOOOHHHHHHH a little peak into Ephraim's past? Don't mind if I yes!

Masterlist - Part 21

Content: vampire whumpee, gladiator ring, gladiator slave, manticore whumpee, manticore tail wound, sword wounds, whip wounds, trying to hide injury

@voltober

Defiant Whumpee | “I can do it by myself!” | Hidden Injury

Ephraim lifted his blade, fangs bared and crying out in victory. The manticore lay in the dirt pretending to be dead. He was a very good boy and Ephraim was very proud of him. The masters had also been very excited when Ephraim proved he could train Manny so they wouldn’t have to recapture any more of his kind and waste resources on that when they could use the same manticore over and over again.

The only issue was Ephraim had actually scared Manny and had taken a real injury in this fight. He couldn’t show that he had been hurt or his efforts to train Manny would go to waste. He grinned at the crowd as the servants of the ring pulled Manny out, the smallest flicking of his tail proving he was still alive, though people would be too distracted watching the victorious vampire to notice.

Ephraim swallowed hard as he felt blood trickle down his hip, mentally preparing himself for the next fight. He just needed to get through one more fight and then he could leave and lick his wounds. He’d get some blood for his efforts and he could rest.

“Welcome to the ring, the reigning champion! Erika the Flayer!”

Ephraim winced. Erika? Oh, this was going to be unpleasant.

The door to the ring opened and Erika strode in, her blade held up in one hand, her whip in the other. Ephraim and Erika were favorites to see together as they were very familiar with one another and even worked together to choreograph fights so they looked cooler, but Ephraim wasn’t sure he could do it today.

She met his eyes, eager, and saw the panic there. She raised an eyebrow and he set his face against the pain in his lower back. He was fine. No one would see the blood on the red robes the Masters had him wear to mark him as a vampire. He could fight through the pain.

He narrowed his eyes in concentration, tensing for the fight. Erika did so more slowly, confused.

Ephraim moved first when the gong was rung, dodging Erika’s lashing whip and getting into her guard, teeth shining in the sun.

He tried to knock her arm away, hoping she would drop a weapon, but she dodged around him and curled her muscled arm around his neck to control his head.

“What’s wrong?” she growled as he snarled and fought to escape, trying to stomp on her foot.

“Manny got me,” Ephraim hissed back. “You can beat me, but they can’t know.”

She clicked her tongue. “You’re an idiot. They’re going to know anyway.”

“Not if you tear up the wound with your whip.”

“Where.”

“Above my hip on my back, my left.”

She nodded and allowed him to break away. He lunged at her but she got a slice in across his chest, sending him back. He played up the monster angle, knowing the crowd liked to see him in control in front of monsters, but wanted him to be the monster when he was faced against a human fighter.

True enough, cheers went up, followed by screams of excitement as Erika cracked her whip, her aim true as the whip tore into the wound already on his back.

He screamed through his teeth falling to his hands and knees for a moment before pushing himself up and whirled around, avoiding the next strike.

He managed to knock her sword away on the next dive, and after a sweaty, sandy wrestle in the sand, Erika came up on top, holding a broken shard of glass she’d found in the sand to his throat.

He slowly uncurled his arms, laying them flat out to either side and lifted his chin in surrender. Erika stood up, raising her weapon into the air in victory, leading the next round of cheers from the crowd.

Ephraim panted in the sand, closing his eyes for a brief moment. When he opened his eyes again he saw Erika standing over him, holding out a hand to help him up. “I can do it myself,” he growled, getting up despite the piercing pain in his back.

She shrugged a little. “I’m not the enemy here.”

Ephraim sighed heavily. “I know. I’m sorry.”

“Meet you when I’m done with my fights. I’ll get you cleaned up.”

“Thanks, Erika.”

“Of course. Go ahead and head out.”

Ephraim nodded and limped his way over to the exit door.

VTB Part 23

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