With an hour left before the duel, Selena had all but paced herself around in a jittery mess and was now left as calm and cool as a statue.
"You almost look creepy now that you've stopped moving around."
Selena looked at Melissa and shrugged. "I've always been like this." She's still extremely nervous, but she'd already released any potential pressure that would stiffen her shoulders and muscles. It's one of her trusted methods in managing her anxiety, perfect when she needs to go on stage or face crowds.
Though this time, her stage will be extremely different than the ones she'd been on.
Both she and Melissa took a peek at where the duel would be held earlier. The entire pack had been buzzing since the early morning, their whispers sounding excited like they're about to hold a festival. That turned out to be almost true once Selena saw the venue.
The clearing that was used to hold the Shifting and Ascension ceremonies was cleared and replaced with a very large, elevated circular platform where the fighters will duel. The platform was open; no nets or ropes around the edge to keep the fighters inside. Selena wondered how well the watchers would keep away from the fighting without any sort of barricade. There were also long tables set just a bit ways away from the platform, where the food will be put.
"It's almost like a festival."
"I guess," Melissa shrugged. "I mean, no official duel in the pack has been acknowledged for almost a century. Of course, everyone will be excited."
"Hmm," Selena hummed. Did the novel ever mention it?
Back in the present, both Selena and Melissa were sitting in the area designated for her. Now that she wasn't physically jittery, Selena found herself looking around the buzzing place. The novel never really mentions much about how the duel happened throughout the story, mainly centering on the protagonist's inner thoughts. Now, she couldn't help the marvel as she watched how everyone was moving and working. Every single person she saw had obvious excitement on their faces, even children, which initially concerned Selena. Like, should the adults really let their children watch fights like this at such young ages? Are censorship standards the same in werewolves?
"You feel ready?"
Selena snorted. "Not even a little bit. I still have no idea how I'll survive this." Especially since every eye will be on hers. Ugh, she could feel her body shuddering at the thought. She pulled on her fingers until they popped. "You said they'll put weapons we could use?"
Melissa nodded. "Yes, the elders ok'ed it." She gave Selena a side-eyed glance that Selena didn't notice. "It'll probably be hard to convince them to do it if it isn't for Chase's order. Especially with how much of a traditionalist those elders are. We werewolves are warriors; we have always relied on our claws and teeth, not weapons."
Selena nodded. Guess that makes sense. She felt the side of her head prickling, and so she turned to her friend with a raised eyebrow, "Uh… why are you looking at me funny?"
The other girl merely shook her head. "Nothing. Just… you've been calmer than I initially thought after everything that happened."
"Eh? You don't think I haven't panicked enough?"
"Not that!" Melissa huffed again. "But, well… I think I'm expecting you to become more… scared? I mean," she started moving her arms around. "After Claire declared a challenge, I was expecting that I would have to hunt for you around after you had holed yourself away from everyone, crying."
"That's…" What story-Selena would probably do, she guessed. Fits how she was written in the story, so soft and a bit emotional, too… Wait, she kinda forgot about it. Should she have tried acting more like her story counterpart? She'd already run her mouth the first time she woke up in this world. Would it even have an effect on her life? Dang it, she really should have created some sort of list of do's and don'ts for her to follow; she got too preoccupied with other things.
She got saved from replying when a figure suddenly appeared.
"Elder Tharen," Melissa greeted solemnly. Selena still wasn't sure what to call this man, so she just bowed her head slightly in respect wordlessly.
The elder man's cold gaze got heavier as seconds passed without him saying anything. Selena hesitantly raised her eyes, just enough so she could see the man's face, but she couldn't read any hints of emotion or thoughts. He really is like a carved block of ice with how stoic he was, and it's making Selena's nape prickly. Gah, she hated being stared at.
She wasn't sure how long the stuffy silence stretched, but she suddenly heard Tharen sigh, followed by words, "Fight well." The two girls kept their gazes down until they were sure that the man was out of earshot.
"Huh, did he just wish you well?" Melissa asked.
"Hmm." Selena wasn't expecting it, either. She'd always thought the elder man too cold with a grade-A parenting style back when she was reading the novel, especially as his daughter was being abused by his second wife and stepdaughter in his own home. Granted, almost everyone in that damn novel are either too much of a pushover or too much of an asshole in her opinion—drama has always been one of the novel's greatest selling point—so it's almost confusing to see some weird quirks and small acts that doesn't fit her initial portrayal of them, and it makes her wonder how many things has she missed when she was fast reading the story. Or maybe they were plot holes? Oh god, does she have to dig around for those, too?
… Why did she even read through the story again?
She almost jumped when Melissa snapped a finger near her face. "Hello? Earth to Selena? Stop getting lost in your head and start moving. The duel's about to start."
"Right," Selena muttered as she took a breath, tapping her cheeks when she felt like they were getting a bit stiff, as she felt cold all over. It's alright, she can do this. It'll probably hurt—scratch that, it'll definitely hurt, but she just needs to make sure to survive with all body parts intact. Hopefully. Just need to last long enough for the duration of the fight. How long will the duel last, again? Wait, did she even ask about it? There should be some form of rules or mechanics. Maybe they'll just announce it later? She wasn't sure how long she could keep her fingers from shaking that long—
The sound of people cheering and shouting made Selena squeak in fright. Her ears were ringing horribly, so she couldn't decipher much of the announcer's—that's what they were called, right? The ones talking in the ring and hyping people and stuff? Because Selena couldn't pull a dang word from her mind right now—words, and she's starting to get more nervous, her earlier calm demeanor slowly evaporating. She just hoped she could keep her limbs from shaking long enough until she stepped onto the platform.
"—ithout further ado, let the match commence!"
It pulled another roaring cheer from the crowd, the sound almost bursting Selena's eardrums, but it didn't quickly sink in what she was looking at.
"… What are these?"
The younger-looking, lanky guy who brought her to her supposed area scoffed, his expression mocking. "What you'll need for the duel."
Selena blinked. And blinked again.
"… The elders agreed to allow weapons to be used."
The guy clicked his tongue. "Yeah. So go take a pick already."
Selena looked at him, face confused, because surely … Surely, they're just joking. "They're not weapons. These are all instruments."
If anything, the smirk on the young man's face just turned sharper, and the cold feeling slowly covering Selena's limbs just became solid ice. Because what the fuck.
Violins, cello, a harmonica, drums, triangles, maraccas, trumpets, bagpipes (bagpipes!), even a harmonica. A. Freaking. Harmonica! What was she supposed to do, call for Willy the whale?!
Selena turned when she heard someone cackling. Claire was dressed in fitting grey and pink workout clothes that made her look out of place in their forest environment. She gave her the smuggest look as she cocked her hip to the side. "We werewolves are warriors. We fight with our teeth and claws. Either you fight properly, or taste defeat."
The crowd was still cheering—why are they still cheering, really—as Selena stood there, now confused about what she should do.
Selena could feel her mouth opening and closing, but she couldn't utter a word. How… what..? All thoughts just end up half-formed as the other girl just tossed her hair over her back and started walking back to the center of the platform. "Or you can just surrender. Saves us all the… pain before the fight officially starts, right?" She turned to look at Selena, canine teeth fully sharp and her eyes wide in mocking. "It's not like you have any chance against me anyway." It made some near the front cackle, including that lanky guy. Oh, so he's probably one of her posies, too. Probably one of her plans to get to Selena.
Selena wasn't really sure what was happening. She'd been such a tight ball of stress and tension since she found herself in this world, but she just felt something inside her just… snapped. She wasn't sure if it was her patience or sanity, but seeing and hearing Claire's mocking words and actions just made her face twitch. Really, stupid flat characters that were too predictable and monotone, and couldn't probably tell the difference between length, width, and height. She always hates reading them whenever she finds one in one of the novels she's reading, but seeing one in person just reached a different height of patience and tolerance.
Selena grabbed the first thing she touched and, using all her strength, put one step on the platform and hurled the tuba towards Claire, the large instrument hitting the girl squarely on the head and making a clanging sound.
"Bring it bitch!"