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You glanced at White Tiger. She wasn’t looking much better than she had when you clocked her in your fight. That amulet must’ve been doing more than complimenting her neck-line.
You fished the trinket out of your pocket and tossed it to her. She snatched it out of the air and stared at it for a while. Almost immediately, a faint green shimmer washed over her, and she was already starting to look better.
<span class="mu-r">“As promised.”</span>
She breathed a ragged gasp and then exhaled slowly. <span class="mu-g">“Thank you. Not many people here would’ve given it back. I thought I’d have to jump you in an alley somewhere.”</span> she said with a grin. At that very moment, a large bruise on her face disappeared, replaced by soft, supple flesh that matched the rest of her skin tone. The amulet must be healing her too. That explains how she recovered from that hit so fast.
<span class="mu-r">“Don’t sweat it. Just protect it better next time. It was…depressingly easy to steal it from you.”</span> you said, rolling your eyes at her.
She seemed to blush a bit, and Stick just nodded in agreement. You turned to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. <span class="mu-r">“It’s not your fault, you know. You’re a good fighter, and Sal was just trying to protect his own ass.”</span>
He nodded appreciatively, but you could still sense the tension in his shoulders. <span class="mu-r">“Yeah? Well it was still a shitty thing to do.”</span> he said.
<span class="mu-r">“Don’t worry about it. I managed to convince Sal to give us a rematch, after all.”</span> you said, patting him on the back.
Stick grinned at that. <span class="mu-r">“You’re serious?”</span>
<span class="mu-r">“I’m always serious.”</span> you said.
Flint seemed to scoff at that, but you ignored that.
<span class="mu-r">“Same rules as last time. So you’d better rest up and come prepared, because I’m coming for ya.”</span> you continued
<span class="mu-r">“That’s some big talk. Let’s just hope you can back it up.”</span> he replied, an undercurrent of menace in his voice.
<span class="mu-g">“You guys like fighting <span class="mu-i">way</span> too much.”</span> White Tiger muttered.
<span class="mu-r">“Speaking of, where’d you learn to fight like that?”</span> you asked Stick.
He smiled, but you had the feeling that it was also mired in emotions that were far too complex for you to decipher without at least seeing his eyes. <span class="mu-r">“An old friend of mine taught me after my dad died. That guy put me through hell as a kid. I honestly wouldn’t recommend his training regimen.”</span> he said, his smile turning wistful for a moment.
<span class="mu-g">“You have no idea how much comfort that brings me as your ‘student’, Tio.”</span> White Tiger said while crossing her arms.
You all shared a laugh, and felt something with these people that you haven’t felt with anyone other than Flint in a long time. Comradery.
(Cont.)
