Festival of the Crimson Wolf (Part 3)

In the end, the two parted pretty shortly, and the whole restaurant cheered like some major event had just happened.

Leron blinked several times, confused. He was shocked by Crescentian cultures again and again, and he has been here for a year and a half. Is it really alright to.... display that much affection in public?

"They didn't kiss." Vladstin explained. "The rampiogli pasta is long, right? Sometimes, when people share one plate, they end up picking the same rampiogli on their fork and accidentally sharing it. We have a tradition that no matter who it is, the two of you should keep eating it until you reach the shortest length possible. The shorter the length, the more luck there would be for the two of you for the rest of the day."

"That tradition is.... a little perplexing, don't you think?" Leron became mindful of which pasta he's picking now.

Vladstin shrugged. "Eh, it's up to you if you believe it or not anyway. You're not forced to keep sharing."

Leron doesn't want to accidentally share rampiogli in such a public place anytime soon, but he kept the tradition in mind in case it might be useful someday.

After the meal, they dilly-dallied around the capitol until it was dusk, and it was time they rejoined the group again. Lady Wilhengard gave them a good talking to, and Vladstin was pushed to the platform to give a speech and blow the curves horn. The horn blowing itself went well, and they all went back to their homes to sleep for another day of festivities tomorrow.

---------------

It was now the fourth day of the festival. Vladstin and Leron still managed to escape Lady Wilhengard's clutches every single day and enjoyed the festival to themselves. The fourth day was the day of the wrestling matches and other martial sports, and Vladstin had already signed up as the youngest contestant.

"Are you sure about this, Vladstin?" Leron still feels iffy about this, hugging Vlaron the Red Wolf to his chest as he followed Vladstin to the wrestling ring.

"Never been so sure of anything in my life!" Vladstin took off his shirt and tied the gold sash that is usually worn by the waist as a ribbon on his head. The rule was that the victor of the wrestling match would take the sash and raise it proudly to the crowd, and they get to keep it for themselves.

"Be careful out there. I'm scared to watch even a single match, much less seven until the final one-on-one match." Leron patted his shoulders worriedly.

Vladstin took his hand and rubbed it comfortingly. "Trust me on this. I'll win for sure. Can't you give me anything for good luck? Like a hug or —"

Leron stood on his toes and kissed Vladstin on the forehead. "Good luck."

That was really dangerous, Vladstin felt like he was going to have his heart burst out of his chest and the match haven't even started yet. Instead of jitters for the competition, he felt butterflies having a wild party on his stomach. "I....That....Uh....You....T-Thanks."

He hurriedly turned away and jumped to the ring with his head all light and turned to mush, blushing up to the neck. He tried to shake it off as he faces the first opponent.

His first opponent happens to be a teen at the age of 16, with a shaved head and a jagged scar on the side just above his red sash. It reminded Vladstin of a cracked egg. The contestants don't reveal their names until they have formally won, they are just called forth by the ringmaster to each match. So Vladstin chose to refer to him as Cracked Egg.

Cracked Egg had a good physique, but was on the leaner side, similar to Vladstin. He doesn't attack quickly too, he observes his enemy first before going for the kill. His first attack was a jab to the collarbone and a quick turn to grapple Vladstin from the back, so that it would be difficult for Vladstin to land punches to him as he struggles.

But Vladstin managed to shift his weight and slam Cracked Egg to the ground even though he was 2/3 of Cracked Egg's weight!

They tackled each other on the ground for a while, but the impact had affected Cracked Egg severely. Vladstin won the first match without sustaining any injuries, taking the red sash off and handing it to Leron. "You take all the sashes for me, ok? I want to show that when he gets home."

"You did well there, but he was pretty easy. I've seen bigger men join, be careful." Leron said.

Vladstin just smiled at him. "Wrestling isn't about the size of your body, but your spirit. I can handle any of them."

The second match was with someone that Vladstin referred to as Elephant Ears, because he had big ears for his head that's like an elephant's. Elephant Ears have an orange bandana, probably weighing twice as much as Vladstin. Unlike Cracked Egg, he relies on brutal force, and immediately went into full on tackle and knock down the young prince right after the ringmaster commenced the fight.

This was his flaw, as Vladstin easily dodged the attack and jumped onto his back, pulling at those large ears. Elephant Ears tried to swat him away with his meaty hands, but Vladstin remained like a gecko on his broad back and shoulders. Pulling at his ears alone, he managed to bring him backwards and jumped off before he got crushed, then snatched the sash away with a flourish.

"Easy as mulberry." Vladstin grinned to Leron as he handed the orange sash.

"He was not smart, but I'm sure the others wouldn't mindlessly attack like that." Leron's eyebrows stayed knitted.

The next one was Fish Scales, because the skin of his arms had big flakes that looked like scales. It was probably unnatural and meant to be an advantage to the match. Vladstin was still unaffected and was confident that he'll win this one as easily as he did with the others.

Vladstin did win, though not as easy as he thought. He couldn't aim for Fish Scales' upper body so he relied on kicks to the lower parts instead of grasping directly. Vladstin kicked him square at the solar plexus, but when he first attempts to take Fish Scales' yellow sash, he was elbowed on the cheek and he was cut. Vladstin ignored the stinging pain and still took the sash to claim his victory.

"You are injured!" Leron touched his wounded cheek full of concern. "Is it even legal for someone to join with such appendixes on their bodies? It should count as cheating!"

Vladstin just placed his hand over Leron's smiling stupidly. "It's just a small scratch. I have to go now to the next one, take the sash."

Vladstin gave the fourth opponent the monicker Dragonfruit, because his long, spiky hair looked like one. Dragonfruit has a gruff voice and likes to shout whenever he attacks. He was trickier than the others, and seems to have been a veteran on the wrestling ring since he has many lady fans cheering from him at the side.

Leron could see why, he was a good-looking freshly adult man, but he was not impressed by his animalistic way of fighting. Vladstin also had a beastly style to him, but he was not as loud with his grunts and growls, exerting force while keeping an elegant aura.

Vladstin won by pulling at this long hair and striking Dragonfruit's stomach with a knifehand strike. Dragonfruit made a loud, hilarious "OOOMPF!" as he clutched his stomach and Vladstin took his green sash.

"Our wrestling prince got defeated by a kid!" One of the girls exclaimed, not knowing the real prince was the kid.

"I don't care whether he wins or loses. I'm here for his pleasing visuals anyway." Another said.

Vladstin scoffed. "I'm way more pleasing to look at than that Dragonfruit hair, aren't I?"

"Yes. And you sound more lovely too." Leron agreed and took the sash from him. "I'm glad he didn't win. He seems to be the type to climb rooftops, smack his chest repeatedly and shout about his achievements."

The fifth had brocade pants, and so he was called Brocade. Vladstin was not really aiming for creativity in naming his opponents, all that matters is that he whips their asses and takes their sashes away.

Brocade had a more refined style and it took very long for Vladstin to get a hit on him because he was good at defense and spinning in the air. Vladstin was kicked in the head mid-flight and his vision blurred for a while. He managed to get over it and yanked at Brocade's fancy pants. Brocade's eyes widened and pulled it up to avoid shame, but the young Vladstin used it to poke his eyes and snatch the blue sash away.

"Your forehead is bruised." Leron clicked his tongue. He had asked for ice and pressed it on Vladstin's forehead.

Vladstin was giddy from the constant attention Leron was giving him. If he could, he would wrestle every day of his life. "This feels nice, being taken care of you. But I still have to finish this."

The next one has an indigo sash, and there wasn't much memorable about him besides it, so Vladstin called him Indigo. Besides, it fits him well. Indigo was a six-foot-tall hulk with rippling muscles and veins. He was quiet and never taunts, going straight to business. He knew how Vladstin handled the others, going for their weaknesses, and he observed the child long enough to find a weakness too.

The child always likes to show his face to the right side of the ring, where another boy holding his sashes was standing. He tries his best to have his face seen in full glory from that angle whenever he wins.

Using this blindspot, Indigo managed to get Vladstin's arm twisted on his back and face smacked to the ground. But just as he was about to get Vladstin's sash.....

The young prince used a dirty tactic and bites the hand!

Indigo was stunned at this shamelessness that he momentarily loosened his grip and Vladstin shimmied away and grabbed his indigo sash instead.

Indigo didn't say anything and let the kid win. One of the spectators complained to him, and yelled. "Why didn't you just smack the kid for biting you and knocked all those nasty teeth out!?"

"I could never hurt a child." Indigo replied solemnly, as a woman handed him a baby that was only three months old. "I'm sorry daddy didn't win, Magenta. I will try again next time, when you can watch and cheer for me."

"This has been fun! I feel like if I don't stop myself now, I'd win the gold medal for sure!" Vladstin bragged as he drank from the water jug Leron handed to him.

"Congratulations on making it to the finals, kid." A voice said from behind him.

Wearing a violet sash, with wavy violet hair and the same amethyst eyes, was Vladstin's own personal wrestling hero. Eltorre Freudiel, also known as 'Falcon Eyes'.

As a young kid, Leron wasn't paying attention much to these contestants because what matters is whether Vladstin wins or loses to them. But now, he regrets forgetting about this person, he had exactly the same eyes as Sangfroid.

And the same face when it's not hidden or covered in scars.

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