Lolo had never in her life been so nervous about a sparring match as she was stepping onto the field for this one. After Shanti’s warning, she had managed to avoid the fifth year dragons the entire summer. At least Standig was with her, and that was comforting. They had only been friends for about a month, but Lolo trusted Standig completely. He was an incredibly steady person, and it didn't hurt that he was an exceptional fighter. Lolo couldn’t come up with another person she would rather be facing down the dragons with.

Standig and Huo Lohse reached the center of the field simultaneously with their opponents. Sattal smirked at the wolf princess. By comparison, Lolo was easily the smallest and least threatening-looking person on the field, and Sattal was using this fact to try to intimidate her. Tamkhee’s eyes had narrowed at Standig, almost like a predator training his sights on its next meal.

“Ready!”

Without thinking, Lolo moved into a defensive back-to-back position with Standig.

“Begin!”

Instantly, the dragons were on top of them, bearing down with all their might. Lolo had to pivot her body away from her partner to allow Sattal’s sword to drop without hitting Standig in the back. As soon as Sattal’s sword fell, it was back up, slicing the air and barely missing her face. She took a step back and Sattal raised his sword over his head to crash it down over hers. Now was her chance. Lolo rushed Sattal while his arms were raised and managed to throw her full body weight into his chest forcing him to stagger backward to catch his balance. In a stroke of luck, he stumbled over a small stone and tripped. Taking full advantage of the situation, Lolo raised her sword to Sattal’s chest, forcing him to yield.

Meanwhile, Standig found himself in a frantic fight against Tamkhee. Philige’s description of Tamkhee's sword style was accurate. Tamkhee fought no holds barred. This could hardly be called a sparring match; this was a duel. Tamkhee thrust his sword directly at Standig’s heart, brought his sword down directly over Standig’s head, sliced the air level with Standig’s throat-- these were all killing strokes, and there was no question in Standig’s mind that Tamkhee would land those blows if he could.

Having knocked Sattal out of the match, Lolo turned to find Standig barely holding his ground. Tamkhee was relentless and seemed to enjoy pushing the absolute limit of the sparring rulebook. Lolo took advantage of Tamkhee’s focus on Standig to flank him. It wasn’t the most sporting move, but she felt justified as she watched Tamkhee launch stroke after deadly stroke at her partner. As Tamkhee landed a kick at Standig's stomach, knocking the wind out of him, Lolo got right behind him and shouted, “hey!”

Tamkhee, preparing a final blow against Standig, instead wheeled around, startled and angry at having been snuck up on like that. Lolo anticipated his next move and threw herself backwards just in time for Tamkhee's sword to cut the air level with the source of her voice, and for the second time that match, a sword sliced at her face coming up barely a hair-width shy of hitting her. Having been knocked to the side, Standig watched this attack and felt his stomach twist into a knot. Tamkhee continued an overly aggressive assault on Lolo. Having missed her face because she leaned backward, Tamkhee thrust his sword at her gut. To dodge, Lolo allowed her body to fall back onto the ground in a backward somersault. But before she could get back on her feet, Tamkhee brought his sword down over the top of her. Lolo narrowly escaped by launching herself to the side, rolling across the ground with her own sword tight against her body.

Recovering his breath and an upright position, Standig watched this dangerous assault on his partner, becoming increasingly furious with each stroke until he was positively seething. Tamkhee was trying to kill her. Standig felt something in him snap, releasing a primal, protective rage. “He wants a bloodbath, I’ll give him one.” Standig flew at Tamkhee, giving Lolo a chance to find her feet.

Tamkhee was now fighting like a cornered animal. With Lolo’s quick attacks on one side, and Standig’s rage-fueled hammering on the other, it was clear that Tamkhee wouldn’t last long. Huo Lohse caught the look on Standig’s face and faltered. She had never seen that look before, and something about it was terrifying. She had to end this quickly, and she knew that she had to be the one to do it. Taking advantage of another fierce blow from Standig, Lolo spun in behind Tamkhee and kicked him in the back of the knees, effectively dropping him to the ground. But even her sword on Tamkhee’s shoulder and the moderator calling the match didn’t satisfy her partner. Standig continued to land blow after violent blow over Tamkhee’s head, and with each hit, Tamkhee’s deflection became weaker and more desperate.

“Standig! Stop! The match is over!”

Clang! Standig didn’t seem to hear her as he continued his attacks.

“You’re going to hurt him!”

Another hit. Tamkhee's eyes flickered with panic.

“I said STOP!” Lolo squeezed in between Standig and Tamkhee, deflecting the last attack herself. But being unable to properly position herself in such a tight space, the force of Standig’s attack knocked her backward into Tamkhee and she tripped. Still in a defense position with his sword braced over his head, Tamkhee couldn’t get his sword out of Lolo’s way, and, as she fell, the edge of his sword slid perpendicularly across her left ribs.

Standig froze, stunned. And Tamkhee sat back on his feet equally stunned but relieved.

Lolo landed face down on the grass. Her left side was stinging and she suddenly felt dizzy and nauseous. Pushing herself up with her right hand while clutching her side with her left, she managed to stagger back up onto her feet. But the dizziness quickly dropped her back to her hands and knees. Her left hand instinctively returned to the pain in her side, and, as she knelt there, she became aware of a hot, sticky sensation creeping past her wrist and down to her elbow. She dry-heaved at the sudden, thick smell of blood and collapsed onto the ground.

From the sidelines, Jadu recognized the signs of shock immediately and was mere feet from Lolo before either Standig or Tamkhee finished processing what had happened. “Standig, help me get her off the field.”

“What?"

Jadu could have punched him. “She’s hurt! Help me get her off the field!”

Standig was seized with a sudden explosion of adrenaline, and, while Jadu had intended to help Standig carry her off the field, Standig scooped his partner up on his own and bridal carried her back toward the medical tent. “What’s wrong with her?” Standig demanded of Jadu.

Jadu shook his head. “You pushed her into Tamkhee’s sword. She’s in shock.”

“You pushed her….” The words cut Standig to the core, creating an opening for a flood of guilt to seep in.

Arriving at the medical tent, the normally quiet Jadu started ordering everyone around. "Put her on the cot. You, find me some alcohol. You, clean rags. You, horse hair or a really strong thread. You, needle. You, find her a blanket. Standig, hand me that pillow. Shanti, find my med kit. Fortus, put pressure on her wound there." Fortus wavered. "Pressure. There. Now!" Jadu slipped the pillow under Lolo's knees as Fortus applied pressure and the requested items started coming in.

Shanti opened the med kit, and Jadu removed a small knife that he used to cut Lolo's shirt to expose the site of her wound. Someone handed Jadu a flask of alcohol and some rags. Jadu washed his hands in the alcohol before tipping more out over the gash in Lolo's side to sterilize it. He soaked up the blood and extra alcohol with a rag. "Do we have the needle and thread yet?"

Someone procured the requested items and Jadu dumped more alcohol over them. He moved impressively quickly as he stitched her cut closed, but Lolo started coming to. "Hold her hands and keep her from moving," Jadu ordered. Zhongyan and Qingchi had just arrived at the tent and moved quickly to follow the latest orders. "Shanti, I need some crowd control. No one else enters this tent."

The muscles in Lolo's abdomen tensed and struggled to get away from Jadu's needle. "Hold her feet down! I'm almost done." Standig, who was already by her feet, obeyed. Not fully conscious, Lolo fought hard as he fought harder to hold her down.

By the time Lolo was awake enough to be aware of what was happening, Jadu had finished sewing her up. He poured the rest of the alcohol over the wound site and mopped it back up with a fresh rag. He then pulled a long roll of bandages from his med kit and began wrapping it around her ribs five or six times before finally tying it off. "Done." Jadu announced, and everyone released their hold on Lolo, as someone draped a blanket over her. "The cut was deep but her ribs prevented any damage to her organs, so apart from a nasty scar, she'll be fine. Qingchi, make sure she keeps the area sterilized and replaces the wrap with clean bandages every day for two weeks. She can remove the sutures after a month. Until then, no sparring, swimming, or strenuous physical activity of any kind. Let her lay here with her feet up until she is no longer dizzy." And with that, Jadu collected his med kit and left.

"Thank you!" A chorus of voices followed Jadu out.

"How are you feeling, Lolo?" Zhongyan asked.

"What- what happened exactly?" Eyes, trying and failing to be stealthy, glanced in Standig's direction.

"That's a conversation for you and your partner, I think." Qingchi suggested tactfully. "Everybody else, out!"

No one argued.

After everyone had left, Lolo tried to sit up to see Standig a little better-- he was still standing at her feet. "Agh!" Lolo collapsed back onto the cot as the pain in her side sharpened.

Standig startled and, despite the guilt hollowing out his stomach, moved in closer to try and help. "'You ok?"

"Yeah… I'm just not ready to sit up apparently."

The two friends stared at each other for a moment until Standig couldn't take it any longer. "Lolo, I'm so, so sorry. This is all my fault." He looked like he was about to cry, a look Lolo hadn't seen him wear before.

She found his hand with her non-bloodied right one and pulled it toward her in a vain effort to comfort him. "Standig, it was just an accident. This isn't your fault."

Standig shook his head, the tears starting to break free. "No." His voice was barely above a whisper. "No, Lolo, it is my fault. For some reason I can't explain, I completely lost control of myself." Struggling to cope with the flood of emotions, Standig tried to get up and leave, but his friend tightened her grip on his hand and reeled him back into a sitting position.

"I can understand why you are feeling guilty, but Standig, I don't blame you. Look, Jadu said I'm going to be fine. Accidents happen... especially when you play with swords,” she grinned at him, trying to lighten the mood, but it had the opposite effect. Standig's silent tears gave way to bitter sobs. Determining that "a good cry might be exactly what Standig needs", Lolo patted him on the back with an, "it’s ok… let it all out."