blades and blood [visser/taxxon]

kap
Retired Staff

6,037 POSTS
Pronouns: they/them
last seen Jul 4, 2024 19:59:43 GMT -5

trans rights are human rights <3

blades and blood [visser/taxxon] Apr 29, 2021 14:17:11 GMT -5

Post by kap on Apr 29, 2021 14:17:11 GMT -5

V I S S E R
K A N D R O N A

.

Secrets. They're difficult to keep for some people, especially when about eighty percent of your life is a secret. I have to play it off like I'm just a businessman, and that that's where all my wealth comes from. I have to act like all my success was achieved in an honest way, but those who truly know me know that's a load of bullshit.

This empire wasn't founded on honesty and legality.

The mutt fighting ring has been running smoothly for the last ten years, but keeping it a secret from my two sons has been a royal pain in the ass. That's why my wife and I have been talking recently about how to approach explaining it to them. Eventually, we settled on telling our eldest son first, unsure of when we'll tell our youngest.

Now, telling him wasn't just going to be a sit-down discussion like most things in our household might have been. No, this was more of a… show and tell.

After dinner on a friday night, Taxxon and I went out. He didn't know where we were going. I wouldn't tell him that ahead of time. That was for him to find out when we got there.

The cool night air nipped at the skin on my face. There was nothing but silence from me on the walk there- just the sound of my footsteps. If he said anything at all, I either didn't notice or just didn't acknowledge him. Eventually, we approached an alleyway between two buildings that had their lights out.

The two buildings were both businesses that were only open during the day. I'd paid them to coordinate with me so that they weren't open while people were making their way to the fight ring.

At the end of the alleyway was a door- locked, of course. This was one of the three entrances to the fighting ring, which was rather well hidden. Standing outside of this locked door were two men in plain clothing- my guards. They were quite well-trained, and if anyone tried to get in who wasn't supposed to be there, they'd be dealt with.

Immediately, the man on the right side of the door greeted me.

"Mr. Kandrona, sir," he said with a nod. "and might I ask who this is with you?" he continued.

"My son. He's permitted to enter with me tonight."

The man nodded and unlocked the door for us. I turned to Taxxon.

"I'll explain when we get inside," I told him. "Let's go."

Then, I stepped through the door, waiting for Taxxon to follow.

I wasn't really the patient type, though. He probably didn't want to protest.

~

"Whispers in my ear
Nothing can compare
I just wanna listen
Telling me
I'm invincible"

lyrics: "Invincible" by Machine Gun Kelly

bailee
District Mayor

718 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 1, 2024 16:13:02 GMT -5

come snuggle bro

blades and blood [visser/taxxon] May 2, 2021 19:55:26 GMT -5

Post by bailee on May 2, 2021 19:55:26 GMT -5

taxxon kandrona

some folks are born silver spoon in hand, lord don't they help themselves yeah. but when the taxman comes to the door, the house look like a rummage sale

There was a lot I still didn't know about my father. Even eavesdropping on my parents conversations late at night lacked clarity, their hushed whispers disappeared into the cool summer breeze almost as quickly as they left their lips. Visser Kandrona, like most successful businessmen, kept the secrets of success to themselves as they continued to climb the rungs of Panem's microeconomics. This made my journey to establishing my own empire that much more difficult.

It was a Friday night when we set out on our father-and-son journey. Visser was a man of dramatics - he often enjoyed creating anticipation and worry. So when he refused to tell me where we were headed, I wasn't shocked. I awaited the long, drawn out speeches that my father often preached - cryptic messages about success and sustainability, which often made little sense without critical thinking involved. So I remained quiet, silently wishing for my father to surprise me.

He lead me to an empty alleyway, with no light source to illuminate our path. The air was cold and nipped at my skin as goosebumps trailed up and down my forearms. I began to fret as my eyes adjusted to the dark and I noticed two bouncers at the door. They clearly recognized my father, but their eyes trailed suspiciously up and down my frame as we approached them. They greeted him and almost immediately questioned who I was. I let my father do the talking. He had a way with words that I had not quite mastered yet.

"I'll explain when we're inside," he told me as I trailed behind him. I nodded affirmatively and gulped as I followed him further into the corridor. I knew better than to question my father further.

My mind began to race with the possibilities of our whereabouts. A speakeasy? No, that couldn't be it. Visser was much too sophisticated to associate himself with the likes of the men who frequented speakeasys. I've never seen the man drink anything but a whiskey on the rocks amongst the company of well-dressed businesspeople. The air felt damp around us, sending shivers down my spine.

As we travelled further down the corridor, I began to hear the distant yelling of men with a roar of clapping and slamming. I eyed Visser for a reaction, but as per usual his expression was unreadable.

We finally approached the end of the corridor, the temperature of the air dropping drastically as the odour of sweat and... wet dog overwhelmed my senses. My father and I found ourselves standing at the top of what seemed to mimic a colosseum, complete with drunk men yelling obscenities at the stage down below. My breathe hitched as my eyes landed upon the main attraction - a man fighting a muttatation, shirtless and barehanded. I felt like I was rewatching a scene from the Games - a tribute, scared and alone fighting a Capitol-branded savage beast.

I finally broke my silence. "What is this?"

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kap
Retired Staff

6,037 POSTS
Pronouns: they/them
last seen Jul 4, 2024 19:59:43 GMT -5

trans rights are human rights <3

blades and blood [visser/taxxon] May 4, 2021 12:33:10 GMT -5

Post by kap on May 4, 2021 12:33:10 GMT -5

V I S S E R
K A N D R O N A

.

As the steel door slams shut behind us, we head down the long corridor. The cheers of spectators and the roars of the muttation in the ring can be heard from down the hall. Upon finally reaching the end of the corridor, and seeing what lay before him, Taxxon finally decided that it was time to ask questions.

"What is this?" he asked of me. A broad smile made its way across my face, and I put my arm out to the side in a way of presenting what it was that we were seeing.

"This," I announced. "Is the Kandrona fighting ring!"

I lowered my voice back to its normal volume when I continued to speak, explaining a bit more to my son.

"This is my life's work: an underground mutt fighting ring! For the last ten years, it's grown in size and success. Your mother and I recently agreed that it was about time you learned what we were up to. Now, it's your turn, my boy." I grinned.

"You're going to fight a mutt. We've got people betting on you tonight, and I've paid your entry fee already. Get yourself ready."

I paused for a moment.

"Oh, and did you want a knife, or are you going in barehanded?"

I could only imagine the surprise Taxxon was feeling right now, but I'd explained what was going on. I'd done my part.

A scream can be heard from down in the mutt fighting ring, shortly after followed by the sound of a bell. The current fighter was tapping out after having been struck by the mutt a little too hard for his liking.

Booing can be heard from the crowd, as the young man who'd been in the ring hadn't been in there all that long. Twenty-five seconds, according to the clock. Maybe he should've chosen the knife option. Then again, with the amount of people choosing that option, it's harder to be in the ring longest, and you have to be in there the longest to earn the cash prize. He probably figured that if he went without the knife, he'd have less people to compete against.

That's just how it works. We have two different categories, each with a one-thousand dollar buy-in: blades and blood. The blades category means you're fighting using a knife, whereas the blood category means you're fighting with your own flesh and blood: unarmed.

Most people choose the blades option, so there's more money in it, but lower odds.

I look back to Taxxon.

"You ready? You've got one more before you," I tell him.

~

"Whispers in my ear
Nothing can compare
I just wanna listen
Telling me
I'm invincible"

lyrics: "Invincible" by Machine Gun Kelly

bailee
District Mayor

718 POSTS

Pronouns: she/her
last seen Feb 1, 2024 16:13:02 GMT -5

come snuggle bro

blades and blood [visser/taxxon] May 7, 2021 18:07:14 GMT -5

Post by bailee on May 7, 2021 18:07:14 GMT -5

taxxon kandrona

some folks are born silver spoon in hand, lord don't they help themselves yeah. but when the taxman comes to the door, the house look like a rummage sale

"You're going to fight a mutt."

My father's words echoed through my brain, drowning out the drunken yelling of the men surrounding us. I looked over at the man in the arena who just tapped out, screaming in pain as other's dragged him out to tend to the wounds the mutt had inflicted. The mutt, unphased, was lead out of the arena quickly and carefully. How did my father obtain the power, the money to get away with this? Perhaps he was more powerful than I thought he was. It almost scared me how nonchalantly he was able to send his eldest son into the danger of an arena to battle a mutt.

Career training did not prepare me for what I was about to face. Over the years, I had become pretty good at sparring against opponents, but a muttatation was different. The Capitol bred these to kill - my mind drifted of the poor DeLuxe boy from our District who was brutally murdered by a mutt.

But Visser wouldn't let me die.

...Right?

I realized I had not responded to my father. I cleared my throat, disguising the fear that crawled through my body. "I'll do it barehanded," I responded as the next competitor entered the arena, chants and cries echoing throughout the arena. He chanted back at the crowd, a layer of confidence shining through his body that gave me shivers down my spine. The man looked like he knew what he was doing, and from what I could see he lacked the wounds of a fallen soldier.

The muttatation re-entered the arena, an overgrown mastiff-wolf creature that's canines snarled through their massive jowls. The last competitor had barely touched it - he was angry, and ready for vengeance. I watched as the man fought the mutt - a fairly even fight. That was, until the mutt sunk its teeth into the man's calf, which resulted in a blood curling scream throughout the arena. I cringed and looked away as the mutt was restrained and taken away from the arena once again, leaving the man bleeding on the arena floor. A minute. That was the time I had to beat.

"It's time," a man almost immediately approached the two of us and ushered me by my shoulders to the arena. I looked back at my father, as adrenaline started to pump through my veins. As usual, he looked unphased as he looked onto the arena. I looked down at my hands - calloused from the training at the academy, yet I had never felt more underprepared in my life.

The man shoved me through a corridor which lead to the arena, as a click of a lock behind me announced there was no going back now. I padded into the arena, the smell of iron in the air from the previous competitor. First I looked down at the blood lining the floors of the arena, then I looked up at my father. If I didn't know him better, I almost would have mistaken the expression on his face as pride.

The crowd chanted my name as an announcer introduced me as a new fighter, ready to spill blood and blow the rest of the competition away. I doubted my ability to beat a minute, but the chants of the crowd eased my anxiety as I raised my fist in the air, greeting the crowd surrounding me. The grunts of the mutt could be heard in the distance as they prepared to unleash it's wrath upon me.

A gunshot fired in the distance as the mutt was released, almost instantly lurching towards me. I reach my fist out, praying that it collided with my newest foe.

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