"Hey, hey, by the way, did ya hear the big news, wolfy?"
It was much later, when Aster had finally been coerced into getting properly ready for the day and heading out, that Mako popped that question on him.
"I hear a lot of news, Mako. Some of it's big, most of it isn't." The wolf didn't even look up from her phone as she trudged along beside the energetically bouncing woman beside her. "Gonna need you to be more specific."
"You're no fun!" Mako whined, putting on an overly exaggerated pout. But it only held her down for a second before she plowed right on ahead. "It's that special time of year again when the big name releases its fancy death tournament!"
This finally drew Aster's face up, making her blink once in surprise. "No shit. Time for Dante's Abyss again already?"
"Yep yep!" Mako chimed, with a big ol' grin. "You gonna take time off to watch it all from start to finish again?"
"Maybe I will." Aster grinned with a faint chuckle. "Or maybe I'll actually join this time."
"Oooh. I don't know about that. Soft thing like you would just get torn to pieces in a place like that!"
"Say what?" Aster put on an offended air, her face twisting into an upset frown. "I could totally hold my own in some crazy wacked out death tournament! Wolves are super dangerous, you know!"
"Oh, sure sure, wolves are real dangerous. But wolves are also pack animals, and you..." And Mako skipped ahead, turning around to plant one fingertip on Aster's nose. "...would be all alone with no pack to speak of, you dork."
Aster growled and waved a hand to brush his friend's hand off, hunching up her shoulders and marching resolutely forward. "There's a reason the phrase lone wolf exists, you know," she mumbled, mostly to herself.
"Yeah. It exists for bad reasons when a wolf is outcast from their pack or just doesn't have one for whatever reason." Mako raised her arms overhead in a stretch before folding them behind her head. "And you're nowhere near rugged and badass enough to be the
other kind of lone wolf."
"Now you're just makin' fun of me!" Aster whined. She could feel her face turning red under her fur, and was thankful for the snowy covering that hid her visible embarrassment. "You're just tryin' to get me all riled up, I know it."
"C'mon, now, would I really do that?" Mako's words were dripping with an ill-suppressed laugh.
"Yes. Yes you would!" Aster snapped. "And it worked. Screw the risks, I'm gonna do it. I'm joining this year."
"Oooh...." Mako's mirth vanished in an instant. "Are you, uh...sure? It's a
death tournament and all."
"Yeah, yeah...but they've gotta have something or other kicking around. Never seen anyone who participated in it and die not turn up again somewhere, somehow." Aster turned her attention to her phone again. "So there's probably some weird science-magic whatsits they got going on. Something something....death insurance. Patch you up from the brink and bring you back." She was rapidly scrolling through things on her phone as she rambled. "Syntech has its hands in so much shit, it isn't even that tough to imagine that kinda stuff."
"Okay, okay, fine, so you're not worried about the whole death part." Mako relented with a sigh. "But aren't you the least bit concerned about just embarrassing yourself? Most of the folks that turn up to these things are kinda like...trained, aren't they? Or they have some kinda powers and stuff."
"Most of the time, yeah."
"Soooo....you're not worried about that? They're gonna run circles around you!"
Aster frowned, looking up and at Mako directly. "You know, usually, friends are supposed to have confidence and encourage you, not tell you how much of a clown you're gonna be."
"Yeah, well, friends are also supposed to look out for your well-being, you dork!" Mako grabbed Aster by the shoulders and yanked her in close and off her feet, into a positively bone-crushing hug. "And I'm worried about watching you getting beat up in this crazy death tournament!"
"Ack!" Aster flailed and struggled in the embrace, wrenching one arm free to plant her hand against the side of Mako's face and push, trying to free herself from the sudden onslaught of death-by-affection. "C'mon, I'll be—hrgch—I'll be fine!" And she finally struggled and wiggled free, dropping down to the ground in a heap. "I'm a wolf. Most of those other chumps are probably gonna be just human. I'll be fine."
"I'm going to laugh at you once you get back when it turns out you were wrong."
"Whatever."
* * *
It was the work of only a few hours to inform everyone she knew of her decision to join Dante's Abyss this year, and then track down one of their many registration booths. They were all over the place, so really it was just a matter of throwing a dart at the map and seeing which one was closest. Then, after making her way over, she now stood in line eagerly waiting her turn for the sign-up.
The line was a long one, and it took what felt like hours (but was actually only about 30 minutes) for her to finally get her chance.
"Here to sign up for Dante's Abyss, little lady?" was the greeting she received from one of those manning the booth.
"Nah, I'm here to gawk and swoon over all the big, strapping tough guys and gals who
are joining." Aster snorted, with an amused grin. "Yeah, I'm here to sign up."
"Aaaaalright then, just gonna need you to fill out a couple forms here..." And the attendant leaned down below the desk surface, returning with a surprisingly hefty stack of papers. "Just give these a look over and sign wherever you see the big 'SIGN HERE' X marks the spot."
"Yeah, yeah...I know this song and dance...." the wolf-girl grumbled, and proceeded to pore over the piles and reams of paperwork, more skimming through it than properly reading it due to the length. Luckily, in several places there was a plain-fucking-English summary under the mounds of legalese for the less than lawerly-knowledge empowered sorts out there, for which she was grateful.
"Fucking finally..." And after signing everything, she nodded and shoved it back over the table. "There. What next?"
"Alright, just head on over yonder there and follow the instructions of the crew, and we'll get you sent off to the comet."
And over yonder Aster went, to find the waiting crew in question. "Name?" one of them asked her, with a clear lack of real interest.
"Aster."
"That come with a surname, by chance?"
"Nope."
"Greeeaaat. Now then, why don't you just put on a little show for the cameras, and tell us just what you bring to the competition that sets you apart from the rest?"
Aster turned toward the cameras in question, staring directly into the lens for a long moment without speaking. Then, she grinned. "Well for starters," she finally spoke up, lifting a hand to run her fingers through her hair. "My good looks." And then her grin faded. "And more seriously, I bring a little something...." And she flexed her fingers, her clawed nails gleaming in the light. "...non-human and fierce to the table."
"Suuuper." And the crewman who had spoken before just waved her over toward another section. "Teleporter's over there, miss Aster. Welcome to Dante's Comet."