There were only half as many of them as would have been usual, but the six of them more than made up for their lower numbers with an increased fervor and excitement. Because they were fewer in number and there was a strong desire to make this last as long as possible, Pete decreed that anyone who was ruled out could return to the fray after a count of twenty, plus another ten count for every additional time they were knocked out. It was useful to both keep the fracas manageable while also giving folks a chance to take a breather.
Calonderis’ family had moved to Mintas at the same time that Kre’s family did. They weren’t close friends at first. It was more that they just knew that each other existed on the other side of town. It wasn’t up until about a year ago that they realized they had more in common than they realized. Still, despite their relatively new friendship, they went after each other like they were blood-spilled berserkers.
Cal batted away Kre’s initial grasp and locked his own arm around the back of Kre’s neck. “Mine, evens,” he whispered hoarsely, indicating that he believed he had the advantage in their struggle.
“Yours,” Kre agreed, annoyed that he couldn’t fend off the grab and was at the disadvantage. “Call it… now,” he said, initiating the odds and evens mini game.
“Four.” “Two.” They called out in unison, each picking a number from one to five.
Sighing heavily, Kre braced himself for the hit that was about to happen. Cal had won the odds and evens game, which was partially expected given that he had a slight advantage overall with the possible results.
With an evil looking grin, Cal gave Kre a light pat on the shoulder with his free hand. “Spinning kick,” he said menacingly.
Kre hated that move. It required him to fling himself sideways and twist in the air before hitting the ground. Try as he might, he never managed to land it quite right. This time would be no different. Cal shoved Kre away and then took a step to start his spin. Kre waited for the trailing foot to start to swing around before he launched himself into his contortionistic fall. It hurt as much as he figured it would.
As Kre pushed himself to his feet, he saw that Syonette had already put Landar in a realistic choke hold while Pete and Geoffrey were going gut punch for gut punch, each one trying to outdo the other on how high they could jump as they pretended to get hit. As Cal raised one hand up in the air dramatically, waiting to slam it down on his friend’s head, Kre saw his chance to dive forward to grab Cal up in a bear hug.
“Mine, odds” Kre laughed, as he lifted Cal off his feet.
“Go,” Cal grunted.
“One.” “One.”
“Crap,” Kre muttered, bracing himself for the inevitable counterattack.
Cal laughed as he brought his fists down on Kre’s shoulders. “Suplex,” was all he said. As Kre pretended to stagger back from the strikes, he released Cal from the bear hug. Cal took the opportunity and looped his arm around the back of Kre’s neck. He then tucked his own head under Kre’s arm and then flung himself backwards, lifting Kre in the air before they both fell to the ground.
Given the simple difference in their distance from the ground at the apex of the move, Kre obviously suffered more physical pain than Cal. Still, both laughed almost uncontrollably after the initial shock of the impact wore off. Off to the other side, Pete had obviously won their last match-up as he appeared to be kneeing Geoffrey in the ribs. In reality, Geoffrey had his opposite arm wrapped around his body and was letting his open hand take the light hits while still making a nice satisfying thwack.
Syonette was starting to make her way over to Kre and Cal’s little huddle, having already forced Landar to tap out after their third engagement. “Three and oh,” she called out happily while Landar sat off to one side counting through his out-time. Kre knew that if Sy joined the melee here, they’d both look to target him. They usually did. Even in a fake fight, being outnumbered two-to-one meant a more than twofold increase in aches and pains. He wasn’t looking forward to that.