Fia was dragged into the arena by her chain. She dug her claws into the dirt and left long, narrow ruts behind her. A speartip prodded her haunch which inspired her to leap past the doors with a yelp. They slammed shut awfully loud behind her with a note of finality.

"Enter, Favilla the dragon!" the announcer said.

The fervid cheers for Umbra had been replaced by raucous guffaws.

The noise made Fia feel small as she crept into the stadium, and it inspired some conflicting emotions in her. On one hand, she wanted to disappear. More so, an anger boiled within her chest.

They're laughing…. They're laughing at me! I don't want to die this way!

Fia drew in a deep, calming breath. Momentarily, she recalled all the times where she had played with Arenis. The wrestling had been practice for a real fight. She whispered, "I can do this." If she ever wanted to make it back home and see her best friend again, Fia needed to survive.

Her chest lifted and fell with her big inhalations. Fia was entirely focused on the opposing set of doors. When they opened, three sizable birds ran out—as tall as Fia was long. "Enter, Ictus Beccus the terror birds!"

Leaning into their sprint, the birds extended their necks so that their massive beaks were thrust out. They had long legs like a crane but far more muscular. The thicker bodies and heads would render them unable to fly with their small wings. Nevertheless, their speed and size made the trio of birds a fearsome foe.

When they stood at their full height, they loomed a neck and head over Fia. The sheeny quality of the feathers gave them an oily appearance.

She was certainly stricken with terror. Fia pranced about while the three birds took aggressive stances. Their black, beady eyes seemed to gleam as they stalked around her in heavy steps. Two of them flanked her on either side while the biggest one—the leader—faced her head on.

With each step that the terror birds took, Fia backed up. The space between her and the enemy dwindled, as did the space between her and the wall. If she kept up like this, she would soon find herself cornered.

What do I do? Fia wondered. Her heart thrummed so loud and fast in her eardrums, she could scarcely think.

Hey Pinkie. Are you a blackfire dragon? Umbra's presence in her mind had an immediate, soothing effect.

Fia had never heard of blackfire but replied, Yes, fire.

Well, use it. Set the birds on fire from afar. Don't let them get close! They’ll try to peck your neck.

Thanks. Despite Umbra's brash personality, he had offered her valuable advice like before.

Fia centered herself, calling on her magical power to use the spells which were hard for her to control. She needed a fireball. Once a magma-like heat bubbled between her jaws, Fia spat the energy out towards the rightmost terror bird.

The spinning ball of fire reflected in its terrified eyes, and the terror bird dashed to the side.

All three birds shrieked and closed on her.

"Ah!" Fia screamed. Thanks to the adrenaline lighting up her mind, she was able to make the second fireball faster and larger than the last. She spewed the molten projectile at the same bird, and this time, the fireball struck the center of its chest.

The sudden impact made the terror bird stumble and trip over its long legs. Flames crackled and fulminated across the terror bird's body. The squawking bird got up and took a haphazard lap around the arena. The blustering wind from its sprint only fanned the fire like bellows on a forge.

The other two birds had converged on Fia. She tried to flee towards the open space that she had made, but the terror birds were too fast. The bird which had charged in from the left hammered its beak on her tail.

Fia screeched when she felt the linked bones of her tail dislodge. The lower portion of her tail broke with a crack. The injury sent immense pain radiating up to the base of her tailbone, and it would hinder her performance for the rest of the fight. However, the state of her body mattered naught if she would die here and now.

The largest terror bird loomed overhead with its neck slightly craned back. The black eyes seemed to flash as it came down to strike her neck. This was exactly what Umbra had warned her about.

Fia fell back and flung out a wing. I'll never fly if I can't survive anyway…. Eyes squeezed shut, she braced herself for the ruin of her wing.

The razor-like beak of the terror bird impaled the leathery material. The thicker base of the beak eventually got stuck. Without many nerves in her wing, Fia was unhindered by pain when she bashed her wing outward. The terror bird was whacked in the face and stumbled a half-step back.

By then, Fia had accumulated her mana into another fireball. In her exhale, she heaved the flames a short distance into the terror bird's face. The remaining terror bird had released her tail, so Fia scrambled away and prepared for the next exchange.

Two terror birds had their plumage turn to plumes of smoke. The gray-tinged air trailed after them as they were running around, shrieking. Fia discounted them from the fight and focused on the only composed bird left.

It charged for her at its full sprint.

Fia gathered the last of her mana between her jaws. Her claws dug into the ground, prepared to run as soon as she released the fireball. However, it had been her mistake to ignore the other two terror birds.

In their frenzy, one of the birds happened to plow over Fia and kick her onto her side. The sudden contact made her splutter the flames across the ground. The last of her mana had been wasted.

No…! It was a devastating loss, and Fia might just lose her life in the next seconds. Her shoulders arched to braced herself, but the terror bird did not step on her. Its talons landed a stride away and carried the screeching bird to the far side of the arena.

Roll left! Umbra gave the command, and Fia obeyed blindly.

Eyes squeezed shut, she pushed with her wings and legs to make herself flip over as quickly as possible. A loud thunk sounded at her side. Fia peeked her lids open to see the terror bird had pounded its beak into the dirt. A cavernous divet was created where her head had previously lain. If she had been a second slower, that hole would have been smashed into her skull.

She tried to offer to Umbra, Thanks so much—

Move!

Fia dodged to the right just as the terror bird slammed its beak back down. Its head lifted to prepare for another rapid attack; Fia could hardly keep up at this range. She needed to get out of striking distance, so she flipped herself over backwards and landed on her feet.

An idea flitted to mind, inspired by the way that Umbra had evaded and attacked the leo medusa simultaneously.

This time when the terror bird's beak struck the dirt, her claws flashed outward to slice at its head. The breath held in Fia's throat as she went in for the kill. Her nostrils were soon greeted with the fresh scent of blood.

A gash was struck by Fia's claws across the bird's head, but the wound did not seem to faze it. The terror bird headbutted her and tossed her backwards onto her side.

Fia lay helplessly and tried to roll out of the way. Alas, the terror bird clasped one taloned foot over her body. The dragoness could only squirm and squeal as its head pulled back. Fia scratched desperately along its ankle, but the tough, scaly foot was immovable.

Firelight flashed into the corner of her vision, and a second terror bird happened to charge into the one that pinned her. The collision toppled both birds. The one engulfed in flame did not get up, completely consumed like a bonfire on the ground.

The other terror bird jumped and shrieked as fire spread to its own feathers. It flapped its stubby wings and took off in a frantic dash.

The chaotic arena had turned in Fia's favor. The dragoness no longer had to directly involve herself in this fight. The two remaining terror birds could not fly; neither could Fia for that matter, but she could climb.

She bounded over to the edge of the arena. Fia scampered onto the metal cage and hauled herself up. Her body slunk from side to side as she scaled the curved bars. Near the top, she was safely out of reach of the terror birds. Fia hung nearly upside down and craned her head all the way back to watch.

The two flaming birds darted around in vain until they ultimately collapsed.

“Favilla the dragon wins!” The announcer’s voice resounded when the terror birds’ bodies no longer thrashed or twitched.

A massive sigh of relief left Fia’s jaws. Through a little bit of skill, a little bit of guidance, and lots of good luck, she had won her first match in the coliseum.