She could hear the crowd outside cheering wildly.

Tellka adjusted her gloves and glanced at herself in the mirror of her dressing room. Look good, fight well, get money. The life of a gladiator.

'Who are you fighting against today?' Kate's quiet voice penetraded the woren's thoughts as she picked up her staff and examined it carefully.

Some stallion named James Procter.

'Be carefull...'

Whate are you worried about? Tellka chuckled mentally as well as out loud. You know what I'm like when it comes to fighting.

'You'll meet your match one day, Tellka.'

Tellka rolled her eyes as she opened the door to the arena and stepped out onto the hot sand. Maybe, but not today.

The crowd greeted her with a blast of excited cheers as the announcer introduced her. Tellka entertained the crowd with a bit of fanfare as the announcer began to introduce her opponent.

"And her competitor, a fighter from the city of the first colosseum itself, a man who's worked his way up from the bottom in record time, the man of muscle, the horse-power himself, JAMES PROCTER!"

The crowd errupted into more cheers as the door on the other side of the arena opened and a large, muscular stallion stepped out. Averaging about 6'5", muscles rippling under a thin coat of grey fur, a short, blunt horn located on the stallion's forehead, the muscular giant, dressed in a galdiators belt and a pair of rough material brown shorts, shook his stiff green mane, let out a challenging bray and stomped the ground with his left hoof. Tellka felt her tail flick lightly.

Alright, he's big. So he may be a bit of a challenge.

'Be carefull...'

The announcer made his way hurridly out of the arena as the signal for the fight to start ran out. Tellka and her opponent began to steadily circle eachother as the woren considered her challenger.

Okay, she thought to herself, being careful to keep from distracting Kate with her thoughts. Big guy, big guys generally don't move very fast. Speed will be of use here. From the looks of it, this guy will be hitting pretty hard, so evasion will be a necessity. Only strike when you know you have an opening. See if you can't wear him out first. Tellka lept into the air to avoid a charge from the stallion, flipping over her opponent and landing behind him. In an instant she was after him, leaping through the air and swinging her staff quickly out at him in hopes of catching him in the back of the head.

He was faster then she had expected.

In a fluid motion the stallion turned, raising his right arm up in defense. The woren's staff collided against his block, and with a grunt he brought his left fist up, catching the woren forcefully in her jaw as Tellka did her best to recoil from the counter move. The blow hit lower then it was ment to, but it still packed enough force to knock Tellka through the air. With a partial flip the woren landed on her feet and steadied herself, her throbbing jaw causing her wince slightly and she pulled her lips back in a snarl.

Faster then I was expecting. Looks like this really will be a challenge. Tellka's tail lashed wildly as she began to consider her tactics, dropping into another circling motion with her opponent. Again the stallion charged, and Tellka avoided him a second time by leaping over him. This time, however, instead of charging his turned back, the woren flipped to her right and charged. Procter turned, expecting to catch her rushing at him from behind again, but was caught off gaurd as a blow from her staff collided into the side of his head. With a loud grunt the stallion countered, turning and just managing to catch the woren with a quick upper cut and knocked her back a few yards. Again Tellka controlled her fall, landing on her feet as she steadied herself and worked to put more space between her and her opponent.

This guy is like hitting a brick wall. The stallion charged again, and Tellka avoided him with a leap to her right before backing off with a few quick flips to distance herself from her opponent. So he likes charging. Tellka's thought was once again proved as her opponent turned and charged at her once more. This time the woren waited. As the stallion approached her in a rush, the woren vaulted herself straight up into the air, and dropped down landing on Procter's shoulders. The stallion reared his head back with a bray and doubled over with a quick jerk, hoping to dislodge the woren from his back. It almost worked. Tellka lost her hold and would have flown straight over the stallion's head if it weren't for the fact that Procter had reared his head up again suddenly, his blunt horn catching Tellka in the center of her belt with enough force to knock the wind out of her and send her flying into the air. The woren landed hard on her back a few feet away from the stallion with a loud groan. With a flick of her tail, the woren motioned that she was done and the announcer signaled the fight's end. Tellka coughed loudly and worked to regain her breath and the crowed exploded into a rush of amazed cheers and enranged shouts as James Procter raised his fists in victory, letting out a loud bray as his green tail lashed about. With another shake of his mane and a determined snort, the stallion, named victor of the fight, made his way back to his dressing room. Tellka pushed her self up and sorely made her way back to her own.

I can't believe I actually lost to a horse. Tellka let out a loud groan as she attended to the giant bruise on her stomach. Good thing that guy's horn was blunt, or I could have a huge hole right here.

'Well, at least it was a challenging fight.' Tellka could sense that Kate was doing her best to try and cheer her up. Tellka muttered and rubbed her still aching jaw.

But it was a challenging fight that I lost.

'No one likes a sore loser, Tellka.'

The woren chuckled mentally at her younger counterpart. It's kind of hard not to be a sore loser when you're work is at a colosseum, Kate.

'... Oh you know what I meant. Anyway, at least you have a goal to work towards now.'

Yea, like turning James Procter to glue next time I have to fight against him.

'Tellka...'