2 October 2022

One of the writing skills I want to improve includes the ability to write fluid and engaging action sequences. I lack confidence in that, and I want to get better. It’s not the only skill I’m trying to improve, of course, but it’s one that’s been in the back of my head for a long time.

So I had a thought; what if I had a playground of sorts - the Arena - that could change to match whatever setting I wanted, just for me to practice envisioning and writing action sequences? No overarching plot, no deeper meaning, just a place a bunch of fights can happen. It’s a lot of fun, and I definitely want to do more with it at some point. There’s little to no fourth wall between me and the characters; death is only relevant in that it takes people out of the action, or potentially motivates them to do and try different things so they don’t die.

Kali crouched on the beam. She was fairly high up; of the eleven beams crossing the Arena, she was on the sixth, with each roughly five feet above or below the next. Each was at a different angle, too; perhaps the Author was exploring verticality with this fight?

She checked to make sure she had all her gear; swords, knives, ball bearings, all good. She had one explosive; no guns this time, though. She also had her grappling hook, which was a relief; even parkour had its limits when the Arena was set up like this.

The gate opened, and a great black thing covered in feathers rushed into the Arena. Its head was a small white thing, maybe a mask, but the body was massive, taking up half the floor, and seemed to have roughly the consistency of a slime monster, if she ignored the feathers. It prowled around on the ground and then sniffed at the air. It homed in on Kali and roared, revealing rows upon rows of sharp teeth.

“Yeesh. That looks painful,” Kali muttered.

It raced toward her, using the first beam as leverage to reach the second before its tail end had even left the ground. Kali raced along her beam, and once she was close enough, she flung the grappling hook to swing to the beam above her.

As she landed, she flung two of her knives at the beast. The first sunk into its black slimy flesh and vanished, but the other nicked its mask, causing the beast to bellow.

It bunched up a part of its body right behind its head and launched a barrage of feathers at Kali. She evaded with a front flip, and noted how easily the feathers had embedded themselves into the beams and walls.

She shook her head at the sight. “Still, at least I’ve figured out its weak spot.”

The beast was only a couple beams below her now, so Kali raced to the end of her beam, taking a couple steps up the wall before she jumped for the next beam up. She eyed the beast and briefly considered fighting it here, but any protracted fight in close quarters would likely end with it pinning her down using its sheer mass. Kali threw another dagger at its head and looked for a good place to grapple up. 

She did notice, out of the corner of her eye, that the knife she threw had just bounced off. “Seriously?” She flung the grapple and jumped, narrowly avoiding another barrage of feathers, and used her momentum to skip the next beam entirely and reach the tenth.

The beast roared once more and slithered along the beams toward her, barely slowing down as it climbed from one to the next. Kali threw another knife, leaving her with only one left, before she pulled out a sword and leapt for the top beam.

The beast surged forward and opened its mouth wide, but Kali grinned and swung her sword. It cut into the thing’s mouth, but got caught between its teeth. The beast reared back, taking Kali’s sword with it.

She cursed under her breath and flung out the hook, landing just under its tail, on the same beam she’d started from. It turned to look at her and screeched, then bit down just hard enough to break the sword caught in its mouth. It swept down, moving faster than Kali had seen yet.

She managed to jump down the next couple beams just before it, and even threw her ball bearings behind her as it landed on the fourth. To her surprise, that actually worked; its front half slid off before it was able to catch itself with its tail end.

For a moment, the two watched each other warily. Kali drew her other sword, but right as she jumped down to the beam below her the beast rushed forward and pinned her to the wall. Her sword arm couldn’t move, but her other hand was free, and she reached for one of the pouches in her belt.

The beast’s head slowly drew closer, as if savoring its catch, and then it roared. Kali grinned and chucked her explosive into its mouth, then took her sword in her free hand and cut herself loose.

She managed to slow her fall just enough with the grappling hook, and she landed hard on the ground right as the beast exploded into a rain of black goop and feathers. Kali collapsed onto her back, looked to the sky and muttered, “You freakin’ owe me for that one.”