Tane hadn't noticed how strange the manacles felt around his hands until they were off. He rubbed feverishly at his wrists until the blood came back to them properly. Had they gotten paler, or was he imagining things? The slave boy tried to pass him his weapons, a club and a shield, but he made him drop the weapons on the ground and shooed him away. There was a proper way to do this.
He stretched out his arms, relieving the cramps from the long journey, rolling them backwards and forwards, tipping his head back and forth, working out the cricks. As he did, he spoke to his opponent.
"I like Dominus Ludusra. He is funny man, yes! I don't know how he think of the Kaoteru as pig-fuckers, but they were!"
He stretched one great branch of an arm over his head and let out a great belly-laugh.
"And you! You are a chief of something as well! I see it in how you stand, like my chief, or my father, or me! Why do you give me such a small club? I can not kill a dog with something so small, hah!"
Another guffaw echoed forth.
"Let's see how much of the cunning and the skill you have, burned face! Let me greet you properly, 'brother'!"
M'Baka started forwards, but stopped with a look of mild confusion when Tane took in a deep breath, slammed both feet to the ground, twisted them outwards and began to shout.
Earth, ground me and keep me still as the rock and the cliff.
He struck out both arms straight, left palm pointed up and north, right palm up and south
North and South, let your light shine on us, let us never lose our way
With a great sweeping movement of his arms, he slammed his right hand palm first onto his chest and thrust his left arm, also palm first, straight at M'Baka who was staring wide-eyed in confusion.
May the mana flow through me and my friend, may energy and fortune run through us both
His eyes snapped open, alight with wildfire, his mouth twisted into a fearsome, energetic grin as he let loose a roar to denote the new part of the greeting. He lifted each leg in turn, slammed them down on the ground and twisted them into the sand. With another guttural bellow, he slammed his hands onto his thighs one after the other, then slammed them into the air and lolled his tongue out as far as it would go
Greetings, my enemy!
He smashed his fists against his mighty barrel chest, raised them to the sky and then smacked them down onto the ground with tremendous force.
May our blood feed the soil and our flesh nourish the birds and beasts, should we die.
Tane slapped one sand-covered hand against the elbow of the other arm, repeated it with the other arm, and then hammered both firsts into his inner thighs.
I will break your arms and your legs, and leave you still, my enemy.
He swing one mighty meathook of a hand forwards as if to grasp the head of an invisible man, then repeated the move with his right hand. With a mighty shout he brought the invisible head slamming against one knee, then the other
I will break your skull, my enemy, and I shall grind your bones to dust.
With an air of finality, he crossed his arms in front of him, and then wrenched them apart as if he were tearing something in two with a mighty skyward howl
You will die here, my enemy, so say I to north and south, to earth and sky!
He relaxed a let out a great breath of air, then reached for the shield and club, the latter still being pitifully small. M'Baka broke out of his state of utter confusion.
"Are you ready to fight now, or should I wait for the right constellation to pass overhead?"
In answer, Tane lunged at him, bringing down the club with speed that belied the man's great size - but the Doctore was faster, and the club sailed past him with a whoosh as he twisted out its path. M'Baka waited a second for Tane's momentum to bring the painted giant past him, before dealing him a ferocious downwards jab in the side with the blunt training spear that sent him stumbling away from the Doctore.
The islander steadied himself, twisted on his heel and began stalking around the Doctore, stance low and steady. His opponent mirrored him, the two walking on the opposite edges of a circle they were treading into the ludus floor.
Tane took a half-jump, half-step forwards, still keeping out of the range of the practice spear. The trainer shifted the grip of the spear slightly in his hands. With a smile more usually seen attached to a fin rapidly approaching a drowning sailor, Tane jumped forward again with a little bark, ending up just outside of the spear's regular reach, his club and shield held to his sides. M'Baka lunged forward, but Tane swung the shield up with blinding speed and clumsily knocked the spear upwards, then charged like a bull straight at the trainer, shield held in front of him. Once again, the Doctore spun out of his path, but this time Tane twisted to face him, ready to charge again.
And caught the blunt end of the training spear to the side of his mouth. Without time to properly stabilise himself, he stumbled, reeling from the sudden pain. The spear smacked into the backs of his knees, unsteadying him and a couple of rapid, strong thrusts to the small of his back and his neck sent him tumbling to the ground. Almost immediately he tried to push himself up from the ground, ignoring the hail of spear hits raining down upon him, adrenaline and rage overpowering the pain. The spear swept under his hands and yanked them out from under him, sending him collapsing to the ground to breathe angrily in the sand and dust.
"And now, you would be dead."
Stated M'Baka in a serious tone.
Within a few seconds, the heavy, angry breaths of the painted giant changed into coughing, and from coughing into another great rumbling belly-laugh as he pushed himself from the ground, wincing as he stretched out bruises on his back, his limbs, his head. The great man dragged himself to his feet, barely able to breathe for his raucous laughter, brushed himself off and strode purposefully over to M'Baka.
"YOU! LITTLE MAN! I LIKE YOU!"
Any attempts at speech degenerated into further mirthful noises for a while. He finally managed to get a hold of himself, and turned to the Dominus.
"Dominus Ludusra! Is this what the Arena will be like? I have not have such a good fight in many nights! I feel so alive! You Sentyurums are crazy, but I like you! By North and South, by your silly gods, tell me this what the arena, what be a gladiator is like! Is so, you will have my ear and my hand for long time, and I will be fighting in your name, yes!"