Emilia was out of breath when she made it to the stands. "Did i miss anything?" She asked breathing hard.
"Finally decided to join us? I thought Drake's match was supposed to be just before this. You must have run hard to make it in time." Marty glared at Emilia.
"Well I wasnt going to miss this match no matter what. Even im not that shameless." She said glaring back, then looked away. "Besides it ended early anyways."
Marty snorted. Dina looked out over the pit. "They haven't started yet. They just handed the chips off to the reps. We will know in a moment what is going to happen." Her gaze was sharp and didnt move from the pit.
Derek just shrugged. "It seems like she's picking between Flicker, Hope, and Tox. Francis is using either that weird vine thorner, a Berry Bomber, or that weird plant she hasn't used yet. I wonder what it is."
Emilia looked down and paled. "Oh god. Its a Big Pitcher... If Pat doesnt choose Hope, she's done for."
The rest turned to her suddenly.
"What do you mean she's done for?" Marty asked passionately.
"Big Pitchers are a beast version of a pitcher plant. The normal plant doesnt grow around here and I've never seen a beast before so its not in my notes. But they are also called fly traps. They secreat a sweet smell that most insects fine irresistible. It lures them in and then they slide down into the bowl and can't climb out. They drown in the digestive juices of the plant." Her friends all looked stunned. "But the Big Pitcher isnt passive like its normal counter part. Its sweet scent clouds the minds of insect beasts and alows it to manipulate its victims actions."
"What does that mean for Patricia?" Derek asked hesitantly.
"It means that if she doesnt have a unbreakable connection to her beast and it doesnt listen absolutely, it will probably fly right into that things stomach. And if its a poison hybrid or breed for highly acidic digestive juices, at the very least the stingers wings will be ruined. It may even be killed if patricia doesnt surrender fast enough."
They all grimaced. If there was one thing patricia was particularly bad at it was admitting defeat.
---
"I choose beast 3 Flicker!"
"I choose beast 6 Honey pot."
Patricia was relieved to see the pot like beast being lowered into the pit. If its only means of attack was a ranged strike of goo, then she would be able to take her time with finishing it off once she got close. Flicker would be the perfect option to avoid the goo and get to the beast quickly.
The representatives began the countdown, and patricia noted an oddity from her stingers senses. 'Why does i smell sweets?'
She pushed the extraneous thought away and waited for the signal. When it came she ordered Flicker to dart forward and prepare to evade. But that's not what happened.
Instead flickers senses were flooded by an indescribable sweetness. She was instantly filled with desire. She lifted off from the ground buzzing forward in a lazy un hurriedly way. She bobbed from side to side, as if intoxicated.
Patricia tried to focus on her connection to Flicker. Sending feelings of warning and danger and attempting to compel the beast with promises of rewards, but nothing worked. Honey Pot on the other end of the arena waddled forward with an awkward gait. Its leaf lid flapping up and down as if wafting a smell. It was then patricia realized what was happening.
"Its some sort of mind effect caused by the smell."
She focused all her ki and began slamming her will against the wall of fog that seemed to swirl around Flicker's thoughts. Flicker slowed and then stopped looking back at Patricia in apparent confusion, as if asking 'what's wrong? Cant you smell it? Its so wonderful.' Patricia didnt slacken her assault upon the fog. She felt something unlocking within her seemingly some block she didnt even know she had starting to come loose. She could feel the possibility of it just out of her reach. If she could just make the last push she could dislodge this block. The power beyond would be enough to save Flicker and this match. She knew it would be.
"Just a bit more" She said between clenched teeth.
But, it was too late. Flicker had returned to her flight and now landed upon the edge of the Pitcher. Then Honey Pot perked forward snapping closed around the helpless stinger.
Agony.
Patricia dropped to her knees. She was pushing so hard to connect to Flicker that when the fog lifted suddenly, the stingers sensations flooded into her without a buffer. She struggled to separate the stingers sensations from her own. She could feel her wings dissolving. Her eyes burning away. Her mouth searing as she tried to scream.
"SURRENDER! I SURRENDER! PLEASE YOURE KILLING HER!" Patricia screamed through the pain.
Francis didnt hesitate. As the reps were signaling the end of the match she was already in the air, falling into the pit. When she reached the big pitcher, she plunged her hand into the basin. Her face tightened in pain as she pulled the still melting stinger from the plant. Once that was done she uncorked a flash from her belt and dumped it over the stinger and her own raw red hand. He hand started to Blister even as the solution neutralized the digestive juices.
The pain began to retreat from Patricia's mind as the connection to her stinger grew tenuous. She gasped for air. Tears streaming down her face. When she looked up she found francis kneeling before her still holding her stinger. Patricia reached out and took the stinger from her. She swept her senses across the beast and to her relief realized she was alive and stable. Her wings were gone entirely, and one eye was likely to be blind for the rest of the stingers life. But she was alive, her legs were intact, she was still breathing, and the damage to her mouth was only superficial. She should be able to make a recovery and though she would be crippled she hopefully wouldn't have much in the way of lasting pain.
Patricia realized Francis had said something. She looked back to the taller woman her eyes still glowing with ki. "Ehat did you say?"
"I said im sorry for the condition of your beast. I overlooked that you are not a classically trained tamer. I felt i could not afford to not use my strongest counter to insect beasts. But I did not realize the pain would affect you so. My Honey Pot is particularly stubborn when it comes to his food. I acted as quickly as I could." Her look of concern was genuine.
"Its... its ok. Thank you. For saving her."
"Not many tamers are as compassionate and attached to their beasts as you seem to be. Among my peers I am one of the few who even gives my beasts names. I suppose as a breeder your connection runs much deeper than my own."
Patricia nodded in confirmation.
"Then for what its worth i hope your Flicker recovers as best she can. But, let me give you some advice. If this as much as you can take then you should b a ck out of this tournament and leave taming to those more disposed to it. A tamer with a soft heart is not someone who can make it in the pits."
With that she stood and moved to the other side of the pit. When she got there her Honey Pot stomped its fleshy body into the ground in protest of her rough treatment. Francis reached into a pouch and pulled out the head and thorax of a butchered stinger and tossed it to the beast, which snapped it out of the air, and settled down comfortably to digest.
Patricia watched in silence Flicker cradled against her chest.