<Ah.> sent the Cobalt Beetle. <It is a place worthy to die in. Have you prepared your grave, as well?>
I rubbed my feet on the sand, forgetting that insects don't sweat. <I thought you were eating me if I couldn't entertain you.>
<Indeed. Still, I have no use of your exoskeleton after that.>
I shrugged. <Leave it for the ants and other scavengers.>
He hopped down from the ledge, landing outside the circle of planted spears. <Is this to be the limit of our arena?>
<I considered that.> I admitted. <But you are both stronger and heavier. You could win merely by shoving me out of bounds.>
<I could, yes. But that would be boring.>
He snapped his mandibles, flexed the forearms with the crablike claws at the end. <Do you have any final words?>
<I think…> But he chose that moment to rush me.
I activated everything; I didn't expect to last past the first minute.
So I decided against making it a dramatic battle; to do so, I'd have had to make the Cobalt Beetle playful, something that just didn't fit his established personality. Otherwise, the most this was going to last was about where it ended up.
Honestly, I'm not happy with it; it isn't my bestest writing ever. But (shrug) it's done and moving onward. In a real novel, I'd have taken my time and done right by the build up. But this is a timed medium. The next big fight, I'm going to START by writing the battle and then put it into the outline.
Lesson learned, I guess.
As always, thank you for your continued readership and support; it means more to me than I can put into words.