As it turned out, Violet City was a bit of a hub of movement when it came to movement through the country. Everyone coming into the nation from the west would have to go through Violet unless they'd rather brave the wilds. It was also a good point to head towards Alazea and Ebony if you were coming from either Grove or Bark.

But there was another factor to take into account. Northeast of Violet City was the Thorn Mountains, a mountain range that was plagued with ferals; the farther from the city one went the likelier one would be to encounter rather dangerous things. So preparing was always a good idea.

That, at least, was the reason Diane used to explain why there were so many tamers in the "Fight Pits".

Your eyes roamed around the area that stood outside the north wall of the city. It was flattened land devoid of anything. The soil was practically untouched, neither concrete nor constructions decorated this area of land that was probably larger than Bark town entirely. Within this place there were long lines painted into the soil, splitting the area into smaller chunks.

"Red is the limited fighting area." Diane pointed at the nearest zone as you were approaching. "If the fighters so much as set a foot out of the red, the fight ends there and then." The nearest red area was around a basketball court in size. There was a second line outside the red one, orange; it lay five meters away from red. "Orange is 'only monstergirls allowed', no human should step past orange or they risk being injured." Next, she pointed at the two yellow areas. "Tamer only."

"And white is for the warning that you're approaching an arena."

Diane nodded as you glanced; the proportions were of a "red" area (the size of a basketball court) contained within a white area roughly the size of a soccer field. Your eyes glanced around; you couldn't see a single area that wasn't under use right now. Though you did note there were several dozen monstergirls moving back and forth amongst the fields looking purposeful in their gait.

"Security." The nurse noticed your curiosity and answered.

Nodding, you moved towards the nearest field, making sure you remained only within the white line and looking inside. There was a male tamer at one end and what you figured to be a female one at the other. They'd been calling out orders to the monstergirls fighting inside, but by the looks of it, most of the decisions were changes in broad strategy rather than anything specific.

One of the girls fell and didn't get up, and the male tamer let out a curse and recalled her. The winning monstergirl limped her way to the female tamer, walking proudly with a very wide smile. Words were shared, and the monstergirl moved to sit on the ground next to the female tamer as she then pulled out the next monstergirl.

The redhead looked at her tamer, made a vague roll of her head and, after dropping her baggier clothes, headed towards the centre of the combat area. The male tamer scanned her, rubbed his chin, and released a new monstergirl.

Words were shared, and the monstergirl leaned in to kiss the young man before she began to strip.

"Why...?" You blinked.

"The red-head is probably a fire-type," Diane commented offhandedly. "Fighting against them will always get your clothes burned, so unless they're special, better just strip down.

"Wouldn't they get burned?" You wondered.

"Ah," Diane giggled, moving her hand for you to see, a slight greenish glow covered her fingers. "I think I explained once already, Master, but monstergirls can use their energy to make themselves harder to harm. This includes fire. It's harder to get burnt, and battle monstergirls are expected to be great at this."

"Huh." You'd been just about to settle down and begin watching when you heard the purring sound coming from your right.

You didn't move so much as you carefully glanced over your shoulder. Monica was slightly hunched over, her brows furrowed, eyes focused entirely on the nude monstergirl. Her body was tense.

"Monica, stay," you warned, grabbing her ball and keeping it ready to recall her, just in case.

The feline didn't respond so much as give the barest of nods, her tail swishing slowly while her ears perked up.

Now feeling like you might have to keep an eye on Monica as well, you took a step back to make sure the feline remained within the corner of your vision while you glanced at the two monstergirls facing off. "Who do you figure will win?" You asked Diane casually.

"I'm not too sure, but the fire-girl seems cocky. If she's ranged then the moment the distance is closed in she's likely to lose."

At the shout of the male tamer, the fight appeared to begin, the muscular monstergirl exploding forward in a rush of movement, dust raising in her wake. Though she wasn't as fast as Monica, her running speed was nothing to scoff at. Everything appeared to go in slow motion; the red-head monstergirl unleashed a torrent of fire towards the incoming monstergirl, searing red flames that lit up the field. The fighting monstergirl barely altered course enough to sidestep the attack before continuing her rush forwards.

In the span of a single second, she was upon the redhead. The smaller monstergirl tried to move away but she wasn't fast enough, barely able to dodge the punch before it properly connected with her ribs. The attack was followed by a rotating roundhouse that was blocked, sending the fire-girl sprawling to the side and kicking up dust. Instantly she inhaled sharply, flames flickered at the edges of her lips. The punching monstergirl didn't bother to approach and instead backpedalled.

Barely in time.

Out of the redhead's mouth a sea of fire burst forward, spreading in every direction, yellow and orange; the heat could be felt against your face even at this distance. The muscular monstergirl had covered her face with her arms, dropping to the ground and slamming her fists into the dirt. A cloud of dust enveloped her, cutting her from sight.

The fire monstergirl had not bothered to approach, inhaling again, for longer this time. The monstergirl's hair shone brilliantly with light, the air around her appeared to shimmer with the heat. When she opened her mouth again it was with a deafening roar. This time the fire did not wash over the field like spreading oil, it rushed outwards like an explosion towards the cloud of dust. The pressure wave blew the dust away right before the fire hit.

"No!" Monica said with a growl. "Bad!"

What-?

For a split second, you saw there was no one there.

The next, the fire blinded you as it seared through the air and rose into the sky in a plume of smoke before it could reach the opposite end. The male tamer had to cover his face and duck slightly to avoid the glare and some of the heat.

When you managed to blink away the spots, you saw the fire girl stumbling slightly, frowning and looking towards where her enemy should have been.

"Where is she?" You wondered.

"RUN!" You heard the female shout.

But just as she had the earth beneath the redhead exploded upwards, making her stumble backwards. That was all it took; the monstergirl that had come out of the dirt as if from a horror movie had grabbed the fire-monstergirl's leg, and just like that, you knew the battle was over.

The shriek as the redhead was arched over the naked monstergirl was followed with a solid 'thud' that knocked the air right out of her. The next thing the muscular monstergirl did was yank at the ankle and use her other arm to deliver a blow to the monstergirl's knee using her elbow. The 'crunch' was heard loudly; your knees felt weak. The fire monstergirl shrieked, kicking at her opponent with her good leg and unleashing a burst of flames from her hands, but not before the other monstergirl had managed to deliver a blow to the same leg once more.

This time, the fire hit the fighter in full but it paled in comparison to the previous attacks. Apparently, it hadn't even been enough for her to let go, reaching out for the good leg and landing one more blow before moving back underground. With both legs broken, and blood emerging out of the left leg where the bone poked out of the skin, the redhead whimpered, trying to crawl away from the hole.

She was recalled, and you let out a slight sigh of relief.

Though not before noticing Monica as she frowned. Slowly, the feline outstretched her left arm, making a motion as if to grasp at something, and as she did, she moved her right hand to her cheek and drew a large downwards circle with her elbow. It was during the second repetition of this gesture that you realized she'd been imitating the move she'd seen the fighter use during the battle.

Blinking, you watched her repeat the gesture twice more before trying with her left elbow, frowning, and appearing dissatisfied as she shook her head.

"Rick." She turned towards you, pointing towards the muscular monstergirl as she came out of the ground and began dusting herself of. "Rick, new word."

"New word?" You asked.

"Bite," she said, snapping her jaws, but pointing at the other monstergirl. "Bite." She then proceeded to repeat the elbow blow. "Bite." She then touched her left arm with the right one, leaving angry scratches in the wake of her claws.

"Ah..." You scratched your cheek. "Fight."

"Fight?"

You approached, raising your fists slowly and, very slowly, tapping her stomach before drawing the hand back in a mock boxer's pose. The next one was a little faster, but no more than a little tap. "Right fight Monica," you declared, reaching out to lay the barest of taps against her chin.

Monica blinked, nodding. Her hands snapped out, grabbing both your wrists, and following it with a pounce that knocked you onto your ass. She straddled your chest as she pressed her finger against your throat. "New word?"

"Monica win," you said, forcing the words past the wild beat in your chest. "Rick lose."

A little nod again, she moved to get off of your chest and helped you stand up. Her attention turned to a very nervous looking Diane. "Monica fight Diane," she said.

The nurse's eyes widened as Monica pounced her this time. You were just about to reach for the ball when you noted Monica had pinned her very much the same way she had you.

With one exception.

At some point, the nurse had pulled the knife out of her pocket and had attempted to stab Monica. The feline had stopped the blade with her bare hand while the other pressed against the nurse's chest. "Monica win, Diane lose."

Diane growled at that, a deep scowl as the feral said this. "Diane win," she said, pressing her hand against Monica's chest, a light glow starting to emerge out of her fingers. "Monica stop, or I will hurt you."

And in that instant, you remembered your first breakfast with her, her words of severed spines. "Diane, don't," you stated quickly. "Whatever it is you're thinking of doing, don't."

With a startled gasp, she turned towards you. "She attacked me first." Her knife-wielding hand was still struggling against Monica's grip.

Her words brought about a frown out of you. "Would you rather Monica take you seriously?"

That made Diane hesitate, sighing. "Diane lose, Monica win," she declared, watching the feline nod, though not without looking at you and then at her with pursed lips.

"New words?"

"Later." You moved to recall her, sighing deeply and rubbing the bridge of your nose.

The nurse stood up, dusting herself off as she looked at you. "Why did you want me to concede, Master? I am the alpha, Monica should know to respect my authority."

With a deep breath, you steadied yourself. "And you're not Monica, so making yourself be respected with violence will only beckon more of it if any wished to challenge your position," you replied sternly. "You can't win in a serious fight and we both know it." You closed your eyes, the lines, the unspoken rules. "You can only be rude once."

"What?"

"You can only be rude once," you said, glancing at the two tamers as they approached one another, shaking hands. Your focus returned to the nurse. "Look, if you are nice to someone and then rude, they won't expect the rudeness, but any niceness after it will be tainted because they will expect you to be rude." You gestured at your ball. "Your ability to seriously hurt Monica, if you used it on her, she will never lower her guard around you ever again. You would not have another chance."

The nurse blinked, eyes widening. "If I must use it, then I better make it count."

"Exactly." You felt your shoulders sag a little as you nodded. "I'm going to pull her out now, and you're going to ask for an apology, the normal way." Your eyes glanced around. "Then I'll get Kiara and Raven out, I think I've seen enough."

"What's the plan, Master?"

"Well, I'm going to try and see how Kiara's proposal might work itself out," you muttered, scratching your chin. "Do you have any thoughts to share before I let her out?"

"I think it is a bad thing to do, Master, scamming other hardworking tamers..."

"Duly noted," you said with a slight nod. "I don't intend to leave them penniless or anything like that, I just want a handful of easy fights to get some spending money."

"If it's only that, Master..." Diane hesitated but nodded.