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“You,” Vera Oberlin begins, a fierce fire behind her eyes as her face stops mere inches from your own. An intimidating sight in its own right, all the more so as the snakes that act as her hair flair to life, hissing and baring their fangs.
What did you do?
“What did I do?” you ask, all your willpower stopping you from shoving her away out of fear.
“Are coming with me,” she continues, practically a whisper as she grabs you by the scruff of your shirt.
You don't fight, even though you should, dragged through the halls and earning the attention of dozens of monsters. None raise a hand, paw nor claw to save you, thought plenty gawk. Except Zoe. Sweet as she is, she simply waves at the pair of you before jotting something in her notepad.
Fresh air hits you as you're free of the school, only to be marched straight into a waiting vehicle! The door slams shut as Vera enters behind, tapping the black, obscuring window that separates you from whoever drives.
It's unclear just how long you've been driven before you find your voice, Vera calm as can be with her eyes shut and arms crossed.
“Um, are you gonna whack me or something?” you find yourself asking.
A sharp tut slips from her, peering at you with a lone eye. “Disgusting. Do that yourself.”
Huh, you always heard she had mob ties. Apparently not. Wait, does she think you mean- “No, like in the movies-”
You promptly shut up as you earn her full ire, beautiful eyes shooting daggers as she grits her teeth. Yeah, you probably could have worded that better. So, now you can only wait as you keep quiet, praying to whatever deity watches over the monster community that you'll get to see another day.
Now, the moment of truth.
The car comes to a sudden halt, Vera not wasting a second as she opens the door and holds it open for you. An almost complete U-turn from before. Sliding over, you take your sweet time getting out, only for her slam the door shut. When you face her, she's looking at the floor, cheeks showing signs of darkness as she holds out a pair of tickets.
“Wrestle-brawl season passes,” are written in a comically gory font, dripping bloody as they give up on the bone motif after a single letter.
“You enjoy wrestling, right?” Vera asks, sounding confident despite how she holds herself.
“Um, yeah,” you confirm.
“Good.” Finally, she straightens up, grabbing your hand and making sure you hold one of the tickets. “You'll be joining me for the season, then.”
“Wrestling has seasons?”
“Don't think about it too hard,” she answers with a sigh, only to smile as she forces her arm into yours. “Sandy Ravage is in the main event.”
Score. You don't exactly complain as you head to the arena, arm in arm with your new, uh, wrestling buddy?
Yeah, probably safe to go with that, for now...