Liliia
Legacy Name: Liliia

“The glittering gauntlet has been thrown – the sparks - and sparkles - will soon fly! She’ll dazzle you with her daring battle tactics…”

The announcer’s voice rose over the pitch of the battle arena, the crowd of excited onlookers settling into their seats, glancing around to try and get a peek at the next challenger.

“Get ready, for the Terror of Treasure, the Femme of Fierce, the Ruby of the Rumble….”

They were at the edge of their seats now - not all Subetan battle pets got such a great announcement. Backstage, the Kerubi prepped for the fight in her own way, glancing smugly around at her attendants while polishing (and sharpening) her claws.

“This damsel only causes distress, and she’s about to wreak havoc in our very own battle arena,” the announcer continued, “Your Princess of Pain, the Jeweled Kerubi….”

She rose from her chair and prepared to launch herself onto the stage with the final word of her introduction, her gems catching the lights and making the audience gasp with delight and wonder…

“Lil’ LIAAAAAA!!!!!”

She contemplated how much strangling the announcer would increase her reputation. Lil’ Lia? Liliia!! LIL-I-AHH. How hard was that? There was no apostrophe! She cast daggers his way as she pranced around the stage, showing how nimble and fierce she was. The Paralix she was due to face stood smirking at the edge of the ring. They’d gotten his name right, but it didn’t matter. She’d whoop up on him in a minute, and then they’d all remember how to pronounce it.

An hour later, the battle had finished and she was exhausted, but happily counting her winnings. Each of these would go towards the grand prize - a new gem for her collection. Perhaps this time, she could even spare a moment to go on the adventures the archeologists told her about, digging and diving for buried treasure. It would be so much more gratifying to find each piece of her collection herself - but it didn’t pay as well as the battle arena, and took a lot more of her time. The thoughts occupied her as she headed home. What would an adventure be like?

Little did she know, the chance to find out would come sooner than she thought. The next day, she stopped by her favorite gemstone source, only to find a Closed sign on the door. Checking the hours, she sighed and banged a paw against the glass.

“HEY!” she shouted, seeing a shadowy figure inside moving around. “HEY! Don’t you want to sell stuff?!”

Simpler, a particularly seedy-looking Wyllop, regarded her with his beady, cool gaze before opening the door.

“Liliia, we don’t have anything new today. Come back in a month,” he said quietly, looking around as if someone else would be watching.

“What do you mean, a month,” she snapped, frustrated. “You said that a month ago! I have a full month’s winnings here - I’m ready to collect another stone! I need it!”

He looked nervous. “Come inside,” he murmured in hushed tones, pulling her into the darkened shop, closing and locking the door behind her. The dusty room was full of glittering glass cases, full to the brim with interesting artifacts, jewelry, and ancient pendants. A single naked bulb dangled over each case, all darkened save one in the very back of the shop.

“We’ve had a delay, Liliia,” he explained, looking nervous. “Almost an entire shipment was stolen on the route from the Omen Islands. There have been raiders.”

She looked at him quizzically. That caught her off guard - raiders, in Subeta, and looking for gemstones? They usually only went for the rarest of items. That meant that the shopkeeper had had something truly spectacular headed this way. Something that should have been hers. Well, she wasn’t about to let any half-cracked raider keep her gemstones!

“It sounds like you could use some protection,” she said smugly, using her height advantage to tower over the small creature. “It sounds like maybe you’re trafficking something more valuable than what you usually find.” She arched a single eyebrow.

“Well, yes,” he admitted, worriedly. What was she getting at?

“You know I’m no slouch in the arena,” she said pointedly. “I’ll sign on for your next expedition, and you can pay me in what is obviously,” she purred, “valuables.”

Simpler wilted slightly, but he nodded in acquiescence. “You’ll meet us at the docks tomorrow, Liliia. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”

Credits:

Pet profile and story: exquisite
Profile artwork: uwagoto